CD, Ant-Zen, 2009
www.hegira.be
This is an odd beast. This Morn’ Omina have always been quite the favourite of mine, particularly in a nightclub setting; big, noisy tribal beats blended together with what can only be described as noisy techno – perfect to stomp around to and enjoy whilst out with friends – and “Momentum of Singular Clarity” certainly still has that trademark sound stamped all over it. There’s just one addition that I’m not terribly certain about. This Morn’ Omina have gone and added vocals, although only to the tracks “Momentum I” and “Momentum II”.
Listening to the vocal element for the first time certainly made me sit up and pay attention, but I’m not certain how I feel about it. I certainly admire Mika Goedrijk for stepping out from behind the laptop and adding this element to his music, but it’s approaching Combichrist territory a little too closely for my tastes. It’s not bad, but I feel the vocal tracks may well take some getting used to. The music and vocals certainly do work very well together, and I can see “Momentum II” going down very well in the clubs. The only difference between the two tracks being “Momentum I” has all the lyrics present, and “Momentum II” seems to just have the chorus lyrics present, choosing to focus on the sound instead.
Those tracks without vocals are suitably impressive. “Nuraghi” starts with a slow, steady tribal beat, building up into a lush melody, with strange and slightly unsettling whispers sandwiched in between. “Ananda” is a little strange, but I like how the sounds are meshed together; to me the beginning sounds vaguely industrial, maybe with a slight nod towards power electronics – dark, mysterious and brooding – until the beats and noisy techno sound comes in half way through, only to fade back in to the dark at the end. It’s an interesting track. “Telluran” is really very chilled out for This Morn’ Omina with lovely spoken word additions and a slightly world music feel to it.
I think with this release a lot of people will focus on the vocal element, much the same as I have done, as it’s a really rather unexpected addition; although the tracks without vocals show more interesting range, I can see the “Momentum” tracks being very popular. I am impressed with the varying sounds present over five tracks, and that This Morn’ Omina have stepped out of their comfort sound and tried something different. I think this will be one of those albums that gets better with more listens, and will most certainly work well in a live setting.
[7.5/10]
— Kate Turgoose