Alder & Ash - Psalms for the Sunder

Housed in a handcrafted 7" x 5" panoramic case with a glass mastered CD and digital download. If Lost Tribe Sound were tasked with inventing the ideal musical leviathan for the label, experimental cellist Alder & Ash would perhaps be the crowning achievement of such an undertaking. The framework of such a beast would be formed of heavy creaking timber, the beating heart of the creature - labored and thumping along steadily like an ancient, ill-timed metronome. The strong limbs would be held together by sinews of lamb gut and metal, able to reach out in calm and caress, yet also capable of lashing out in brutal fits of devastation and frustration. Exploring similar themes as Clutched in the Maw of the World, Psalms for the Sunder thrives in opposing extremes. As the title suggests, Psalms for the Sunder is a study of downfall and collapse. The work explores the boundaries, the desolation and despair, among the edges of things come undone. In that tension and space it finds not only cacophony, violence and decay, but also bitter sweetness and calm. If all this sounds a bit intense, you may do well to just have a listen or duck out now. As this is not the safe path to Yo-Yo-Ma style laments, gracefully pondering some past love affair. Psalms... takes a far more rugged approach, an ugly retelling of the human condition, utilizing the cello not only for it's beauty, but also for it's aggressively commanding sensibilities.