Original Synth

Coeur

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As a fan of the horror genre and of soundtracks in general, I have long been aware of Cœur’s output. The sounds that Levi Miah produces are haunting gems that absolutely deserve images to go along with them.  They are passionate and thoughtful, telling us more about this producer from Essex then he probably realizes.  But nothing, not even the success of last year’s Retriever could have prepared me for his latest release: a trilogy of brief soundtracks, in different genres, all released on the same album.

To be clear Cœur’s Trinity is something achingly beautiful to ANYONE with a strong interest in the structures of SOUND and VISION and how they relate to one another.

Coeur

Throughout this three-part journey – broken up into sections named THE CATHEDRAL, THE BAPTISM, and THE HALLOWED – audiences are presented with song structures that are heavy with ambiance and weighty with the themes we associate with horror, thriller, and science fiction genres.  Crammed into one AMBITIOUS release, it might seem like too much for one album to hold but, thanks to the restraint and the production design here, Cœur’s Trinity works in delivering on the concept of three separate soundtracks without being overwhelming.

It begins sure-footedly with the horror aspect and as THE CATHEDRAL section starts, about a young man hiding from something very EVIL within an isolated church, we are immediately chilled, recalling the unsettling feeling of watching old VHS tapes in darkened rooms. {googleads}

With the beginning of “Sanctity”, the opening track, we get a Goblin-esque pulsating track of explicit doom that echoes into the very corner of the church’s thick and shadowy walls.  All we can hope for is that whatever fog-enshrined nightmare that hides here will pass shortly. That feeling is magnified by “Terror Ascends” as we, staring up at the ceiling of this cathedral, see it for what it truly is: a hiding place for all sorts of demonic entities.  The next track “The Presence of Evil” brings us to our knees as a sprinkling of synth lines makes their way through the sound of an organ pronouncing strict dominance to all who dwell here.  And then the slow rhythm kicks in . . .

. . . and we realize that, for this young man, there truly is no hope here.  Even “Lustratus”, serving as the final part of THE CATHEDRAL’s story, confirms this: all hope is lost.

Exorcising the thriller concept, THE BAPTISM, about an island-dwelling swimmer who discovers a body in the ice-cold waters surrounding his home, begins to pattern out its rock-solid foundation.  Thanks to the opening of “The Lake” and the explicit reverb of “The Flesh”, a solid three-minutes of suffocating mood is formed around the island. It becomes clear by the structure (or at least my interpretation of it) that the poor soul who has discovered the lifeless body is soon haunted by the soul who used to occupy it.

Coeur

Perhaps the fog surrounding the island and its beach lifts just enough to expose the jagged edges of the cliffs’ frame as “The Ghost” brings everything crashing down with its pulsating blasts.  There is no escape from the presence pulled from within the waters.  Suddenly, the pace quickens and the mood, stretching beyond what came before in this release, is lightened marginally with higher pitched synths and synthesizer effects that echo upwards toward the steep cliffs in the horizon. 

Something is happening here to the lead character; a haunting (or is it a hunting?) as “The Deep” sends the listener on a journey away from the safety of the shore . . .

. . . down, down, down into the cold below.

The third and final part of this journey comes in the form of science fiction as one old man chases down death itself across the fantastic fathoms of the cosmos.  THE HALLOW begins as epically as it sounds.  The opening moments of “In the Heart of Vastness, Far from Earth and Heaven” are some of the finest in this release.  You will be dazzled by just how far this section of the soundtrack will take you.

We are already summoned to the place where this grand journey through the stars begins as “The Red Dawn” brings the old man to his knees.  We fall next to him, as well.  And, in Kubrickian fashion – think 2001: A Space Odyssey if you need a little help – our journeyman finds himself confronting his own mortality as nods to classical artists are made thanks to the sheer beauty of the magnificently realized “I Gaze Into the Sun and Behold the Face of God!”, a song that will rob you of your very breath . . .

. . . and, most certainly, this old man’s fate is sealed in “Death, Death, Death”, the concluding statement in this experiment of genres and sounds.  Trinity is a dazzling affair. 

Cœur’s latest release, a three-part concept album of religious themed faux-film soundtracks, hits all the right notes.  As obsessed as I am with filthy floor-sticking old school horror films, this release speaks right to my very soul.  Eerie at times and achingly beautiful at others, the soundscapes presented here are a wicked assortment of melodies and moods that definitely provoke the imagination with fatalistic images to go along with the music.  There is certainly a beauty here, too, and discovering it for yourself makes the journey through these “films” entirely worth it.

Coeur

 


Support Cœur and buy the album here: https://coeursounds.bandcamp.com/