Caul

Item: A Golden Epiphany
Author: Chris Brown

A Golden Epiphany

(2003)

Reviewed by Chris Brown

Discogs Bandcamp

Label Eibon RecordsOpus2003

dark ambient experimental

Originally published at Opus

It's a good time to be a fan of dark-ambient music in general, and of Brett Smith's work in particular. While Smith probably made the biggest splash of his career with the release of Blackmouth, a collaborative project with former SWAN Jarboe, he's been releasing stellar solo work under the Caul moniker for years now. Recent days have seen the release of a trio of Caul titles (one of which is a three disc collection itself), with more on the way.

First out of the gate is Muein, a single hour-long piece of music released by Grinder Tool and Die. A followup to last year's Hidden, Muein is a dark, swirling atmospheric piece of music, all mood and texture. Smith's work is typically quite hard to describe and this is no exception, but let it be said that he is very good at what he does and is definitely on top of his game here. This is the type of work that would make a stunning score to one of the Alien films or to David Fincher's more atmospheric work, if only the film studio types were smart enough to go down that path.

Up next is Swan, an extremely limited edition custom release stunningly hand-packaged in a fold out linen paper cover. Here, Smith collects nine shorter tracks previously available only on various compilations. His shorter work is no less complex and rewarding than his long pieces and this release gives fans a chance to pick up music virtually impossible to come by otherwise.

Finally, from Eibon recordings -- also home of Caul's absolutely stunning Reliquary -- comes A Golden Epiphany, a three disc collection of Caul's first three releases. Up until now, these had only been available as very limited edition cassettes which have long been unavailable, and here, have been remixed and remastered by Smith himself. The packaging, also by Smith, is equally impressive.