Penitent - A Shapeless Beauty

So I'm sure you have all heard of Penitent. Possibly the most well known Karsten Hamre project, "A Shapeless Beauty" is the 8th (or is it 9th) Penitent release, the first of which "Melancholia" was a big hit on the legendary Cold Meat Industry collective.

Penitent is a melancholic and romantic Dark Ambient project, which once again introduces the collaboration of Karsten with Norway's Lucian Olteanu.

Penitent attempts to combine the typical ambient-esque darkwave notions with neo-classical nudges and nods - an earlier release was in fact entitled "Maestro Beethoven". Living up to its name in due form, the feelings delivered here do reconstruct a feeling of Penance and Martyrdom among the listener.

A very heavy part of the Penitent sound is the traditional and melancholic Piano sound, which is a very filling portion of the first two songs on this album. Interludes and Minuets are played, at very slow Tempos.

This could almost be called "Dark Chillout". The pace is very slow, and very reflective of regret, irresponsibility, and penance.

It is not until track 3, "Demon Trubador" (sic) that the pace increases, albeit very slowly. This (like many of Karsten's works) has a genuine darkwave feel to it, with a slight intrusion of bass, before a slow track builds up to a faster track.

Special mention goes to Inside (My Existence) - a track that builds to a crescendo of sounds, almost anthemic, before exploding into a mitigating performance of electronic loops, church organs, and cymbals. Dark as hell, but when was that ever a bad thing?

Imagine the stereotype of the comical "mad scientist" - sitting in his lab, cackling over his mean concoctions, wondering what to conquer and divide with next. This could be music to reflect a biography of his existence.

Titles like "Regret" and "The Longing" back up my earlier thesis, that the entire conception and instigation of Penance's music is to make the listener think, and consider.

Shortly before he fell of the mortal coil, Hubert Selby Jr went down in History as saying"I knew that someday I was going to die. And just before I died, two things would happen: Number 1 - I would regret my entire life. Number 2 - I would want to live my life over again."

I think this sums it up wonderfully. No need to describe the music as anything more than a guise, an output, a scream for atonement. This is a feeling - a mindset we all inevitably come to. Nov 02 2006