Is This Music?
Macrocosmica - Art of the Black Earth
March/April 2003 reviewed by Stuart McHugh

This is a soundtrack album of sorts - to a bumping rattling journey to hell in a handcart, a trawl through the depths of the human soul. It's also a dj's nightmare as curses abound and there's not a backmasking to be found, never mind a 'Parental Advisory' sticker. It's a slow measured start but "V For Vendetta" bursts into life a few minutes in. Similarly, a wealth of textures build on 'Spira Solaris' but as ever an onslaught awaits the unsuspecting listener. 'Bunuel' is a boy girl (husband/wife) singsong - which could be a one-sided domestic, Cerwyss' fragile vocals clashing angrily with Brendan's wails of protest. "This is my life/ fuck you" goes the refrain though the intervening vocals are almost choir-like. 'Totme D' is driven by a simple but effective riff but as ever there's a tune-and-a-half lurking beneath the simmering malevolence. Join the 'Cosmica in their voyage to the bottom of the abyss.
Stuart McHugh