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Q MagazineMay 13, 2013When the quartet let loose, like on the screeching demonic cacophony of Island Epiphany, all hell breaks loose. [Jun 2013, p.96]
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May 1, 2013It remains quite literally sublime--i.e. it creates a stirring sense of awe and fear in the listener, by creating an abstract representation of a facet of nature that we are right to be humbled by and terrified of: giant oceanic waves.
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The WireApr 5, 2013An album whose fragmentary and ephemeral structure is mirrored in its often ethereal, distant sound. [Mar 2013, p.54]
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Mar 18, 2013The members of Ensemble Pearl have made an album that takes heavy, and turns it into a contemplative virtue.
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Mar 18, 2013There’s a definite ambiguity in these songs that means that it is possible to find both the beauty and the beast depending upon how they are approached.
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Mar 22, 2013This debut itself is compelling but because, at last, it represents a clear synthesis of so many of O’Malley’s activities.
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Apr 17, 2013It’s a more subtle, cerebral affair, evoking moods and assembling soundscapes that do far more than blow your hair back.
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Apr 5, 2013There are a few scorching solos throughout, but most of Ensemble Pearl witnesses the musicians paying more attention to atmosphere than technicality.
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Mar 26, 2013Ensemble Pearl is an album of perpetual drift, expanding upon the defining characteristics of droning or ambient music.
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Mar 19, 2013Given its length and glacial pacing, Ensemble Pearl may not resonate for all fans of O'Malley's--or his collaborators--other projects, but it is a singular work that offers considerable rewards for those who will engage with it on its own terms.
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Mar 18, 2013Though all of this buildup of expressionist anxiety demands a steam release, Ensemble Pearl leave the pot boiling and the lid closed tight. Ensemble Pearl shifts and melds in mystery, but with an undeniable dark cast.