Implodes have been garnering attention here and there these last few months, and thus now is the time for the Chicago quartet to release their long-anticipated debut full-length on Kranky. The album, Black Earth, going by its press release (here’s one source out of many), sounds like a mystical journey into the lands of Tolkien, or at the very least into borderline black metal territory. There’s no mythology involved in the album, nor corpse paint in person. Not quite shoegaze, too rich for a diminutive fuzz/sludge/drone label — everyone is united in a hesitancy to classify Implodes as part of a particular genre (a cliché these days, maybe, but one to be thankful for). Whatever category Allmusic decides on, those acquainted with Implodes are unanimous about the appropriate and just decision that no other label than ambient/experimental aficionados Kranky should release this first official LP.
Implodes have been working together for a several years now, spearheaded by Matt Jencik and Ken Camden, and joined by Emily Elhaj (the face behind the cassette label Love Lion) and Justin Rathell. In 2009, the Chicago label Plustapes released Implodes’ first album on cassette; it quickly sold out, was repressed, and sold out for the second time. Don’t worry though — many of those now-obscure tracks were demos for tracks fully (and beautifully) realized on Black Earth. The album is officially out on April 20, but if you’re in the mood for a related primer in improvisational drone, check out Ken Camden’s solo (also Kranky) debut from last year, Lethargy & Repercussion (TMT Review).
Black Earth tracklisting:
01. Open the Door
02. Marker
03. White Window
04. Screech Owl
05. Oxblood
06. Meadowlands
07. Wendy
08. Experiential Report
09. Song for Fucking Damon II (Trap Door)
10. Down Time
11. Hands on the Rail
• Implodes: http://www.myspace.com/chicagoimplodes
• Kranky: http://www.kranky.net
