Review: Chvad SB - Structure

Every now and then along comes a record that is just so beautiful....so heartstoppingly gorgeous...that you can almost feel the endorphins being released and a veil of bliss and contentment being drawn over the despair and despondency of the modern world. Well, this album is one of those. Chvad SB is a prodigious artist having produced some 80 releases (albums, singles, film scores, compilations & remixes) and is also known for being a contributor to experimental legends Controlled Bleeding. Of his prior releases the only one with which I am au fait was his last album 'Phenomenalism, Cartesian Doubt and Bomb #20' - a sci-fi based 'self-playing construct' that is a masterpiece of electronic abstraction. On 'Structure' however Chvad has produced an album of guitar drones and sublime slide guitar that is pure radiance.

There are just the two tracks on the album, both hovering around the twenty minute mark. The first, 'Column' opens with a drone that positively resonates with a slight oscillation. More layers of gentle drone are added and this in itself is a thing of beauty but then enters the guitar. Gentle strums add another dimension to the drones and the result is evocative, emotive and utterly, utterly beautiful (I know, I know...I keep using that word). For those of a spiritual bent, this is transcendent....lifting the listener up and over the humdrum drudgery of everyday life and into a much better place. Absolutely spellblinding. The second track, 'Pillar' takes a slightly different path...percussive knocks add an almost primal edge to more captivating drones but again these herald more of that almost transmundane guitar. The guitar is maybe a tad more strident and, at times, veers into more sedate spaghetti western twang. As the track progresses the presence of synths becomes more obvious, adding rich washes of dystopian colour that complement the guitar and the drones nicely.

'Structure' is a majestic album, rich in texture and conjuring soundscapes with what, in today's world, is a simple palette. It is an enchanting forty minutes which you spend in a blissful reverie. The 'Structure' title is no red herring...it is in the structure of these two tracks that the secret lay..no note is out of place and it sounds as though every sound has been carefully plotted using some form of arcane mathematics...and the fact that Chvad is no slouch with a plectrum helps. This, in short, is superior music making. It is released by Silber and as a download only found on their Bandcamp page here