I first encountered Kyle Brandt as part of post-rock adventurers A Light Within. To date the band has released a remarkable, three-part diary series (Preface, Body Matter & Epilogue), all of which have been positively reviewed on these pages. A multi-talented musician, the vocalist / producer / composer has now stepped out with a new project, Molitoth, and debut album The Tribunal does much to show off Kyle’s range of influences and abilities.
The album opens in the vein of Jolly’s ground-breaking Audio Guide To Happiness with the ambient Meditation (Transcendental) seeking to draw the listener into Kyle’s somnolent world. It gives way to the creeping bass and dusty guitar lines of Confessional Lock, a track that recalls the loping gate of A Perfect Circle, with Kyle’s breathy vocal echoing in the darkness. It’s beautifully produced and addictive, drawing on a range of influences from post punk to progressive, the music providing the perfect backdrop for Kyle’s emotionally charged vocals. Eerie ambience swells to the surface before the tough riffing of Interrogation Flames seeks to find the missing link between Tool and Tears For Fears, Kyle delivering his lyrics through gritted teeth as synths clatter against heavily distorted guitars – it’s an intense piece of music, powerfully delivered and memorable with it. At nine minutes, The Departing is the album’s epic, Kyle using the expanded runtime to explore a number of musical themes. It’s also the album’s highlight, driven by a metronomic beat and supported by a prowling bassline that provides the perfect counterpoint to Kyle’s airy vocals. Awash with melody, it’s a beautiful piece of music, that only slightly suffers from a guitar that seems to rise too suddenly to the surface of a track that is otherwise subtle and restrained. After such a monumental outpouring, the piano-led Self Reflection allows the first half to end on a calmer note, the shimmering guitar drawn in from the post-rock beauty of A Light Within, whilst the melodies seep into your very soul.
Opening the album’s second half, the brief Meditation (Mindfulness) serves as a bridge to the stepped drums of Verdict Cope, another track with a post rock vibe that makes good use of Kyle’s vocal dexterity. Lengthy, but varied enough that it barely registers, Verdict Cope, kicks off the second half on a high, the syncopated guitar mired in brutal layers of distortion. In contrast, Send Me An Angels harks back to PIG’s addictive take on industrial – the taut snap of the drums designed to keep things moving at a brisk pace. Similarly, the stuttering bass synth of Acknowledgement could easily fill the dance floor in a darkwave club thanks to its Depeche Mode vibe, whilst Meditation (Guided) offers to help the listener back to the hectic rush of the real world. It leads not, however, to the outside, but to the soothing, yet slightly sinister, Steven Wilson-esque prog of Incarceration, an album finale that leaves the listener adrift inside Kyle’s creation. Replete with mellow acoustic guitars and Gilmour-esque lead, it offers a more human side to an album that often uses the cold pulse of the synth as armour, and it leaves open the tantalizing possibility of a sequel, as the music drifts away in a haze of backwards masked noise.
Molitoth’s The Tribunal is a mesmerizing effort from Kyle Brandt. Whilst much of what makes A Light Within special remains, Molitoth has a sound of its own, a sweeping sense of scope and ambition that comes from one person’s vision finding voice without compromise. Beautifully recorded and played, the album is best heard as a complete piece, the ambient interludes serving to draw the listener ever deeper into Kyle’s haunting vision. An ambitious and imaginative outing, The Tribunal is a worthy effort indeed. 8.5
