Lief Hall : Voices (self released, 2014)

When I reviewed the Myths CD earlier on Cadena Roselina, I started it writing about how hard it is for music to invoke the feeling of true horror that movies or books can accomplish so well. Now, at this very moment, I'm trying to review the solo album by Lief Hall, one of the members of Myths (now with a brand new solo career and based in Berlin) without using the same topic all over again, but it's pretty much impossible. This is probably the most haunting music I've heard in my life.

On that article I stated that the familiar sound of musical instruments is what usually prevents music from creating the "fear of the unknown" that is needed to generate real sonic terror. In these nine songs though, Lief Hall uses only her own voice, recorded mostly through samples (and very few timbre-altering effects), and manages to transform something as familiar and mundane as the human voice, into a true soundtrack from beyond the grave.

 
Perhaps the song that illustrates this more accurately is "Morning Omen", where the basic loop lays the groundwork for a series of melodies (or something similar to melodies) that get in and out of the track, generating the most terrifying moments on the album. Embracing the possibilities of her voice to the fullest, and always keeping a sense of rhythm for most of the LP (strange, but rhythm at last), Hall does'nt really need any extra tools. "Voices" is sinister, decadent, spacious and terribly modern, like a XIX century Japanese print. Listen to it on a night of imminent storm and with the lights off, you'll see what I mean.

Read the original article in Spanish at Revista Halifax.