Exorcism is the final offering from Xela, the nom de plume of Type Records co-founder Jonathan Twells, who describes this farewell as a therapeutic release, recorded in his childhood home in efforts to illustrate the "dank griminess" of Walsall, UK, an area he dubs the "Black Country". As the result of a Pro-One synthesizer, FX, and a laptop, Twells closes the doors on the project with the impeccable Exorcism priced at absolutely nothing, though just as deserving of a large physical release as any of Xela's vinyl outings.
The first of the album's three movements, "Charm" opens faintly with gong-like intonations and chimes. Field recordings, captured in the Park Lime Pits of Walsall, are scattered across separate channels, crackling, squirming, scraping. The undercurrent becomes denser, and the overcast blackens. Cycling mid-range pitches enter the foreground and regress into opacity. The aforementioned chimes begin to encircle all elements, and what were once purely reverberating have gathered enough murk to account for in volume.
A somber chorus arises, giving way to "Recitation", gracefully ascending and sinking. These resonant moans mystify and persist a challenge to define their spirit, whether they be angelic or dismal is a ceaseless question. Oscillations of synthesizer manifest timbres in character with their clouded environment. Voices disperse, leaving behind a hollow, vertiginous whirr, as if all disorient has ceased and unearthed a cheerless sight beneath the fog canopy.
Abandoned with nearly nothing to emit, "Potion" carries the bare conclusion of its predecessor onward. To the left, a descending melodic pulse emerges to bestow shape upon the nebulous firmament as it loops itself to the right. Harnessing repetition, Twells keeps these at the crown while introducing sharp oscillations below. A recording of trickling water escalates to predominance as the instrumentation deteriorates; the sound of the album literally becoming drained out of existence. Twells pensively layers Exorcism piece-by-piece, far from simple, engulfing its listeners in an impenetrable miasma.
[Xela Website]
[Stream/Download Exorcism from Xela]
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