Senyawa - Alkisah Review

STEPPING FOOT INTO A LAND OF DANGER

When ones goes tribal, they typically back away from modernization. Not Senyawa, as expressed defiantly on Alkisah. Here, mechanical instrumentation stretched to its absolute core reveals an ominous, cabalistic underbelly. The Drone and Free Improvisation - two genres I'm typically opposed to - find merit in Senyawa's Indian barbarism, enhancing an atmosphere hellbent on capitulating to exotic dread. Alkisah plays inside the head of tourists stumbling upon Skull Island, the distant roar of beasts - both human and otherwise - reverberating off shanty defenses and sheer cliff faces. 'Istana' showcases that the best, with bellowing wails and desultory percussion reinforcing the background. 'Fasih' does this too, but through hollow stifling and irascible juxtapositions.

Bar none, my favorite off Alkisah is also the album's longest; 'Alkisah I.' At nine minutes, carried infinitely by a discordant, eccentric keyboard loop, the head-spinning clatter and growing alarm drives home the band's atmosphere better than anything that ensues. It reminds me of Exuma's 'The Obeah Man,' except far more demented and perilous. I really enjoy the combination of improvisation with care, as each nook and cranny is stuffed chockfull with noise: Growls, buzzes, DIY percussion, just a general and permeating cacophony. While the rest of the album takes a similar approach, it never exceeds 'Alkisah I's' level of benumbing intrigue. Lackluster in some spots, Alkisah's engrossing atmospherics and fickle psychosis hold this rattletrap album afloat.