Peter Ulrich
Enter The Mysterium
(City Canyons)
www.citycanyons.com  

Dead Can Dance are cult legends in the purest form. Outside of a dedicated fanbase, they are customarily viewed as an outcrop of the Goth movement, or the dark aesthetes of 4AD. Those non-believers, or the uninitiated, may be surprised to learn that despite near zero media presence they continue to sell out major venues with ease on their occasional tours. Dead Can Dance’s one time percussionist Ulrich, like the parent band, has progressively sought to transcend the syntax of conventional music. On this, his second album, there’s much play on the folk tradition, with the song cycle largely abandoning rhythm for contemplative demi-madrigals that are rich in medieval imagery and atmosphere. It’s a quiescent, hushed affair, and while its self-evident efforts to build a spirit of lyrical awe and reverence sometimes fall over, there is much that fascinates in its complex and intimate interweaving of sound, the best examples being the religiose "The True Cross" and foreboding "Kakatak Tamai". - ALEX OGG