#tekipika

I'm sure if you pay attention to indie ambience, shoegaze, etc you'd know this duo, but most don't truly appreciate how incredible this album is. released in 2014, it's a beautiful, intense, and gritty album with slow bits, fast bits, and poetic lyrics and themes you only truly grasp after a couple of listens. In particular, the album personally reminds me of the ideas of stagnation in life, the conditions of particularly the united states and how we suck culture and religion into some capitalistic version of success, and the flaws in a cynical worldview. but beyond that mildly pretentious stuff, I love how the album sounds. it's harsh, grating, and not afraid to take its time. the names of the songs are so strange, but you can tell they have motes of obscure symbolism throughout. the cover is apparently a still from an old black & white polish religious thriller film, though I could be wrong. there's a hint of HANL's favorite trick, adding audio from obscure media that related strangely well to the ideas at hand. in this case, the song Cropsey begins with a recording from some sort of interview with a presumably possessed child in a care facility. I feel such heavy emotion when i listen to the album, like the whole world is crashing down on me, but i'm protected by a shield of elation. regardless, the album has another bit of importance to me; it inspired the antagonists in my dungeons and dragons campaign, and subsequent sourcebook project— the blackroot druids. it's a big project, and one that I hope to continue to post about.