I came home from Reykjavik and the Iceland Airwaves music festival last weekend, returning with a ridiculous number of physical releases – 22 records, 15 tapes, and nine CDs. As if that wasn’t enough, there were also two packages waiting for me, one from the Fogged Entity label (more on that in another post) and the other from High Mage Productions. I placed the order with High Mage the day the new Psychic Hood cassette came out (a split release with Fen Wraith) to ensure I got a copy, and while on the label’s Bandcamp page I poked around looking for anything else of interest, which is how I ended up with a copy of Danielle Morbid’s Two Sad Ravens Vol. 1. I didn’t know anything about Morbid’s work, but the audio clips sounded cool and the cassette was limited to 10 copies, so I figured what the hell.
And sometimes that’s how discoveries happen.
I played the tape the other day while adding new releases to Discogs and enjoyed it so much that I immediately played it a second time. And I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. I never planned on writing about it, but after listening I feel compelled to. If I can convince even a few people to listen to Two Sad Ravens Vol. 1, then I will have done a good deed.
With five songs and a run time just under 18 minutes, listening to Two Sad Ravens Vol. 1 isn’t a significant time investment. What it is, though, is the perfect length, a lovely sonic journey that leaves you feeling fulfilled and satiated. “Intro” offers a subtle beginning and sets the tone for the rest of the album, a perfect segue into “In The Realm Of Desolation” as it slowly introduces one instrument on top of another, expanding the sonic density one layer at a time before adding a brief dose of percussion at the end like an exclamation point. I’m not certain as to the primary instrument sound that underlies the first three tracks, but it has a haunting quality, not quite sad but more of an understated melancholy, which is captured perfectly in “Lost In The Depths”. Even when the song takes on a fuller, more energetic quality the root undercurrent remains, maintaining the overall serious mood. Things take a bit of a turn on “At Dusk (Two Sad Ravens)”, the instrumentation morphing from individual notes into more lengthy sounds, the synth leaning more toward sci-fi and painted across the landscape in dark purples and blues, the limited, distant percussion creating a sense of great distances. “Outro” takes us out quickly, giving the sensation that where we exited the album in a different physical place from where we started, a few birds chirping at the end making me wonder if the journey through the darkness led me to a place more light.
Two Sad Ravens Vol. 1 can be streamed and purchased digitally at Danielle Morbid’s Bandcamp page HERE (the digital version was originally released here in 2023 as was Two Sad Ravens Vol. 2, which I will definitely be checking out as well). The cassette version was offered via the High Mage Bandcamp page HERE, but it appears all 10 copies have sold out, so if you want the tape you’ll likely have to look on the secondary market. Regardless of the media you use, however, I think you’ll find yourself enjoying the sojourn Danielle Morbid takes you on.