A New Zealand-via-London-via-Melbourne sibling duo, A Dead Forest Index highlights both worldliness and dichotomy on its debut LP. Musically, the band hails from the subdued, “post” side of the spectrum with moody ethereality gently lapping at classical and indie elements, but muted grabs are taken from Tibetan chants, aboriginal rhythms and poetic Americana.
The sparse guitar is o set by lush vocals collapsing somewhere between whispered moans, smarty cooed phrasing and gender neutrality. Throw in some tom-drum bombast and a bit more six-string jangle, as on “Ringing Sidereal,” “In Greyness The Water” and “Myth Retraced,” and you have a majestic, almost epic, rollicking. Other tracks, however, are too ensconced in frailty and bare essentials, making “Summit Down” and “Cast Of Lines” little more than background co ffee-shop noise steeped in sullen restraint.
—Kevin Stewart-Panko
