Syrinx
In the Shadows
Dark Meadow Recordings, 2011
Reviewed by Kent Manthie
Self-hypnosis is an interesting and delightful way of tuning out the noise of the world outside of one’s consciousness. Among the ways to achieve this state, a “yantra” is a helpful focal tool (a yantra is a fixed visual field as opposed to a mantra, which is, such as “OM”, which is supposed to be used as an oral tool to be repeated or, like “OM”, said to oneself out loud for an unlimited amount of time. These tools are meant to clear one’s mind of the clutter – and eliminate all outside distractions in order to reach an hypnotic trance.
Meditation can be thought of as a form of self-hypnosis. Although there are many “styles” of meditation, the goal is the same-to flush the garbage from the outside world that has cluttered your mind.
One other way to reach a blissful state is to lie down, turn the lights down, get as relaxed as possible and to extinguish the fires of thought that race through your mind put on an album not unlike the latest CD by Dark Meadow Recordings’ artists, Syrinx, entitled In the Shadows.
In the Shadows consists of just one 56 minute song, “In the Shadows”. It is a lush, dream-like, atmospheric ball of fire, layered with the drone of synthesizers, scattered, melancholy guitar sine waves and I’m sure they ran the gamut of studio effects. In the Shadows also has a Nembutal -like effect, insofar as the fluidity, the boundless, aural floatation devices can, in the right situation, take the mundane, moribund and depressing death-spiral, known as “life” and replace it with a euphoric sensation, one that, after a time, transforms one’s spirit to a higher plane; one where the vulgar, materialistic outside world fades into pure bliss.
The instrumental “In the Shadows” may not have any wistful poetry via lyrics, but the ultra-suede smooth intensity of the charming ambience transcends any lyrics and to tell the truth, words would only be redundant here at best and at worst would damage the already fragile cosmogony that Syrinx created.
If any of this makes sense to you and/or piques your interest, I wouldn’t even bother trying looking for In the Shadows at your local independent record store and as far as any chain record stores – hahaha – forget it, pal; “alternative” to the corporate-mind controlled masses is a stupid label that once used to mean something but nowadays pop bands that dress in black and sneer a lot, i.e. Green Day, Good Charlotte, The Used and the rest of the “used-up” post-Blink 182 bands are called “alternative”, even though they’re not an alternative to anything – “Alternative” in the music lexicon used to be reserved for original, iconoclastic artists – they were the alternative to the abysmal crap that was passing as “rock” back in the 1980s, of course, there’s always been great music in any decade that served as alternatives to commercial, payola’d junk. How ironic is it then, that now, bands that are termed “alternative” are anything but alternative, especially when they sign the first lucrative major label contract that comes their way?
Take comfort in the fact that artists such as Syrinx keep pushing the edge further and further, while simultaneously, unscrupulous peanut butter salesmen keep pushing garbage on gullible, unsuspecting people who don’t know any better! -KM
