Gelatenheid
Seul Contre Tous
Let Us Sleep
Void Aesthetics
Sympathy Entropy
Tiny Black Needles
Nowhere Melodies
To All Our Empty Fields

Following on from a couple of cdr releases, ("Broken Sounds Set to Despairing Melodies" and "The Forsaken Playgrounds" both released in 2004 ), comes the first full length CD release on the ever reliable French Divine Comedy record label by this Dutch act. Basing the name on a religious / redeemption concept…hope burns eternal…and influenced by the writings of Houellebecq & Céline and the influential cinematographers Noë & Dumont "A call to all redeemers" wears it art firmly on its sleeve. Packaged in a petite brown digi-pak and…surprise, surprise…limited to 500 copies the cover features the cryptic clue of a photograph of a body strewn wrecked church being looked at by three nuns. Very clever.

The music over the eight tracks is also clever in its delivery. In fact I would go as far as saying that on first listen I was left highly flummoxed by the sounds generated by this act. Utilising all manner of electronic gizmos and samples they produce high intensity sound sculptures that straddle the areas between dark ambient / atmospherics and experimental fragments. They call it ‘dramatic film music’ which I totally agree with. They litter the tracks with drum surges, choirs, the odd classical refrain, beguiling spoken worded samples…some reminding me of the infamous ‘Buyers Market’ release… and top it all off with a very heavy dose of electronic skullduggery.

There’s a hidden evil lurking beneath the calm reassuring exterior that catches you unawares. As the religious imagery is hammered home so to is the thought that this is the actual disease and not the proscribed cure. The church of the poisoned mind. Unlike many recordings that seem to just float endlessly in the background "A call to all redeemers" demands the full attention of the listener. As it fluxes and changes at every turn , introducing a myriad of diversely satisfying effects into the mix, the feelings of rising unease increases tenfold and the knots of tension tightens squeezing the heart in a vice like grip.

Fundamentally it would appear that this is just another ambient / experimental release but that would be a flawed assumption. Foundation Hope offer more that just that. They have created a recording that goes in many ways beyond those simple constraints. The deft touches of brilliance strewn across these aural sculptures is what makes this recording what it is. Away from the boring norm and into the stratospheres of ingenuity. Comparable to the "Sacred Flesh" release by Band of Pain and embodying all the quality artistic traits of the good and damned who have previously traversed this well worn path. If God exists he / she would be mightily impressed by this endeavour.

ANM