I am, I must confess, so happy to be reviewing this EP. Those of you who follow the site may remember reviews of the exceptional compilation, BC35, which celebrated the remarkable career of producer and musician Martin Bisi (Swans, Sonic Youth, Cop Shoot Cop etc.) One of the absolute highlights of that set was a track from Ajda The Turkish Queen, whose Take This Ride provided a beautifully emotional counterpoint to swirling sonic explorations found on the album. Now back with a new EP under the auspices of her full band – Black Fortress Of Opium – Ajda is reunited with Martin Bisi, who manages to perfectly balance clarity and grit on an EP that harks back to a golden age of US alt rock typified by bands such as Pixies, Belly and Sonic Youth.
Opening with the slow-burning beauty of Desperate Kiss, Black Fortress Of Opium immediately hook the listener with Ajda’s multitracked vocals, gritty guitar riffs and a sense of airy exploration that reaches its peak as reverb-washed noise slowly builds to a crescendo. Ajda’s warm vocals are, as ever, a highlight here and the music, while packing a punch, is subtle enough to allow plenty of room, and it’s a mesmerising opening. It is, however, quickly eclipsed by the minor-key beauty of The Facts Of Love, which sounds like Bee and Flower dancing a Waltz with Nick Cave, leaving you wondering why a) more people don’t make music like this and b) why people who do make music like this aren’t feted as superstars. A perfectly paced track that tempers soaring melodies with real emotional weight, The Facts Of Love is simply a brilliant song, and it’ll be hours (or even days) before you get it to leave your head. Next up, Here Lies draws on a range of influences so eclectic that, ultimately, it ends up sounding like nothing else that’s out there at the moment. An atmospheric lament built around a beautiful melody, it’s the interplay between the various band members that shines through, reminding me of a time when my teenage self, many years past, sat glued to the television marvelling at Belly’s ability to create a skewed art pop and it’s hard to believe that, some thirty years later, there are artists able to elicit similar emotions.
Opening in a storm of feedback, What Makes It Good takes a skwonky, Sonic Youth-esque riff and pairs it with a Kim Deal style vocal, with only the measured percussion of Yuri Zbitnoff stopping the whole thing from collapsing into a welter of glorious noise. Martin Bisi’s fingerprints are all over here, and you can’t help the feeling that the band had a blast recording this one… and oh how I hope that some live shows may hit the UK shoreline one day, because this will be so cool live! Slowing the pace, Siren Calling Your Mind is a lengthy, gently hypnotic piece, that conjures up images of the Twin Peaks Forest, all mystery and vague, lurking threat, before the EP concludes with The Sealed World. A slippery, noir-ish track that seems to emerge from streets that are lost in a haze of steam and neon-lights reflected in water-filled gutters, The Sealed World benefits greatly from Paul Wallfisch’s jazz-inflected piano, and it provides a suitably enigmatic conclusion to the EP.
Slow Burn is a wonderful, arty record that awoke emotions in me that I thought were long consigned to history. At its best, alternative rock should challenge expectations, drawing on unexpected sonic elements and yet never losing sight of the emotions that led to the music’s creation in the first place. Where so many artists find themselves tempted to smooth the edges, both Black Fortress of Opium and Martin Bisi have the sense to allow a sense of ragged authenticity to remain, and the result is an EP that just connects with the listener on a deeply personal level. A shimmering, slow-burning record that will sit in the memory long after it has finished playing, Slow Burn is an absolute delight from start to end. 9.5/10
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