Sever

Newly reissued by Projekt, Sever is the third album by California gothic tribe This Ascension, and as such it stands as an evolutionary step from their two previous efforts. Whereas the earlier records relied on atmospherics to provide a dimensional extension of the music and lyrical considerations of Dru and guitarist Kevin Serra, Sever concentrates on sheer musicality to get Dru's soaring crystalline voice through a drum-heavy, guitar-laden mix. On "Fuego Cavendo," as Dru lilts atop the rhythm section — augmented by gorgeous keyboard work by Tim Tuttle — putting emotion itself forth as the basis for atmospheric framework, Serra punches in with overdriven guitar exotics to cap her lines and carry her into the refrain. In contrast, "Mysterium," sung completely in Latin, is a six-string, processional anthem. Dru sounds positively regal as she intones and then cascades down the basslines and drum rolls. Dynamic elements, such as faded echo on the vocals and cavernous silences sit along side Serra's screaming axe work. The emotional landscape here is also more mature, than on previous offerings. Dru's poetic self-confidence shines forth in the economy of her lines and in the unforced vulnerability of her cadences. Elements of folk, early music, traditional European court musics, and stripped down rock push on the gothic walls of their aesthetic. This is a well assembled record that points toward new directions for This Ascension, it showcases a band whose restlessness and rock & roll sensibility has emerged rather than been subsumed by their immersion in the darkwave scene. If there were even one rock radio programmer worth a damn in this country, she or he would have seen to it long ago that this band get a chance to have their music heard by the masses. But clearly, one might as well ask for a Phoenix to rise from the ashes of the dead. In the meantime, enjoy this recording from the underground for what it is, there are too few like it.