Helen Money – Arriving Angels


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Arriving Angels (Profound Lore) is one of those albums where awarding a mark at the end seems arbitrary, that sits at the point of aggravation of trying not to impose what the listener/reviewer wants it to do versus what the artist, in this instance cellist Alison Chesley, a.k.a Helen Money, wants it to do.

For the uninitiated Helen Money is the solo output of cellist Chesley, whose catalogue includes work with Neurosis, Shellac, Anthrax and MONO. Purely instrumental, except for the occasional (and it has to be said distracting) appearance of drum patterns, Chesley switches between distorted and more traditional cello sounds, digging out cello’d riffs during the distorted sections.

Calling to mind Amber Asylum (particularly their intriguing Frozen In Amber debut), Beyond Dawn (on Revelry), Blood Axis (I didn’t realise all 3 of these were on the excellent and much missed Misanthropy label until now) and the more neo-folk end of Cold Meat Industry, the contrast between deep, moving dark mood pieces and discordant stabs of electric riffs is jarring, at times working like hearing a bang in the still of night, at others frustrating as a delicate mood and build is (deliberately) shattered. For example, following the haunting and fragile plucked melodies of ‘Midwestern Night’s Dream’ is the album centre-piece and title track, as ‘…Dream’ seamlessly segues into a gorgeous shuddering piece until GAK! 3 minutes in a distorted “riff” appears from out of nowhere. I’m all for juxtaposition, but it sounds like a teenager learning Sabbath riffs on a cheap Epiphone through a 10 watt beginner amp. And then a minute later we’re back into a beautiful soundtrack to an indie film of stark isolation, not to dissimilar to Ulver’s Lyckantropen Themes.

When the electric tone works best is on ending track ‘Runout’, when it doesn’t try to be disruptive, and this is also when Arriving Angels is at its’ best, when Chesley plays, rather than experiments. As an album it lacks flow and doesn’t quite get there as no mood is allowed to build for long enough to have an emotional pull, but its difference stands out, as do several cautious melancholy passages.

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7/10

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Steve Tovey