Rakka LP

Vladislav Delay’s first album in half a decade is certainly not for the uninitiated. According to sleeve notes, it was born out of time spent above the Arctic Circle, in the midst of an environment that’s harsh, unforgiving and brutally cold, but also spectacular and beautiful. Logically, then, we’re offered a collection of music that’s icy and stark, yet buried beneath sounds that can sometimes feel punishing are hidden harmonies and moments of serenity. Opening on the title track, which at times itself feels like a fight for survival, we’re hit with walls of noise that invoke unrelenting winds, sparse desolation and endless wildernesses. Things can be truly challenging, in other moments strangely inviting. The record as a whole, therefore, is like an epic journey through terrain unchartered, and it’s difficult not to acknowledge how effective it is at creating that mood.