A Place of Buried Light

As soon as I started listening to this album, it evoked memories of one of my favorites, The Bleakness of My Constant. It runs down much of the same checklist:

• dense atmospherics, with some tricks borrowed from post-rock
• languid pace
• intense doomy vocals
• occasional beautiful choir-boy vocals (on this album, try "The Dark Between the Stars" at 5:00)

I've come to the conclusion that this album is a poor man's The Bleakness of My Constant. It's very similar, and very good, but has some deficiencies that should be mentioned.

Most importantly, the production value. I don't have a good ear for production value...I don't notice it unless it is filthy, and it's pretty filthy here. Listen to the first minute of A Place of Buried Light, and then listen to the first minute of The Bleakness of My Constant. Hear the difference? What is going on with those guitars?

This is unfortunate, because in most other ways this is a terrific album. The vocals are charismatic--both the pure, unaffected stuff and the metal growl. The atmosphere is great. I love the pacing. Nothing on the album appears to be in a hurry, and yet it is also evidently thought-out. There are plenty of little clever moments, such as the last few minutes of "Shores of Avon Ri." The weird duet between the metal voice and "normal" voice on the last track should be dreadful but is kind of awesome.

So I'm giving this album a 2, but really, you know, it could have earned a 3. Too late for a remaster?