Genre: Folk / Martial / Neoclassical
I must be lucky because Malahki keeps on sending me fantastic albums to review lately. “The Bright and the Pure” is a full-bodied, entertaining, enjoyable, and intelligent listen. Opening with what sounds like bagpipes, drums, and voices, the listener soon knows they are headed into a ceremonial experience. Alternating the pace between tracks, simplicity in backing instrumentation with complexity, solo male or complimented by a female voice: these are all strong traits which carry throughout this release.
No track outshines any other, nor does any fall short. There is remarkable balance in the adeptness of their execution; equally important is the balance through the songs between male and female voices. At no point did I feel like this was just a harsh male-focused album, nor was it drenched in femininity. Instead it was extremely balanced for my ears.
This album presents an array of examples of why I like neo-folk and neo-classical. From arranging complex background orchestral swellings to simple and pure voice with guitar Dies Natalis presents them all in “The Bright and the Pure.” They have bombastic touches here and there, the all-important militaristic snares, the strings in the background, and so on. Yet at no time do they all themselves to be controlled, labeled, or determined by any of the musical sub-genres; instead, Dies Natalis use the methods and music of these genres to communicate their vision.
Their vision, and my grasp of it, is the only thing I’m a little disappointed in. Nowhere could I find the lyrics; even after a couple dozen listens I can’t make out all the lyrics in English, much less French. It would be so nice if they’d post the lyrics. Then again, I like the album so much that I don’t need the lyrics to enjoy it. However, I am pretty sure they would increase my appreciation even more.
“The Bright and the Pure” is a reliable and consistent ceremonial exploration of emotion and honor. It offers a sense of individual as well as collective sentiments by varying instrumentation from one or two up to multiple voices and backing strings. Environments evoked range from a rural church chapel to green fields that saw the slaughter of honorable men to medieval ceremonies in a dying empire. Do not pass this album up.
