I've mentioned a number of times that I started listening to Hark because I was a huge fan of the singer/guitarist's previous band Taint, so I'll try to avoid dwelling on that again. That said, every time I think of Taint I think of the first time I heard them play All Bees to Sea in Clwb Ifor Bach and driving through the snow to get to their final show in Swansea; I'm thinking these things now so I might as well write them.
I ordered Hark's debut album as soon as I heard it was coming out. I have memories of being sat in the drab, very corporate offices of my old job battling with a shitty wi-fi connection to get the record. I opted for the white with blue/brown splatter vinyl (/150) which looks lovely. It ended up being a fairly pricey purchase with the postage from France but definitely worth it. It should be no surprise that the artwork is excellent too.
As you'd hope, Crystalline is a pretty unrelenting album - the only time it really lets up is on the sludgier Black Hole South West, which is still pretty heavy. Other than that, you only really have the the moments between sides to catch your thoughts. Both of the songs from the Mythopoeia 7" reappear but are both incredible songs so no one is complaining; I still think the outro to Sins on Sleeves is huge. Other highlights are the opener, Palendromeda, Scarlet Extremities and Clear Light Of... (featuring Neil Fallon of Clutch).
It took a few listens to really get into Crystalline, but I think the nature of the music makes it pretty dense. I knew that it would be worth persevering because Jimbob's riff have never steered me wrong in the past.
Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £26 new
Bought: Season of Mist website
When: 13/04/14
Colour: White with blue/brown splatter
Etching: none
mp3s: no
