A journey into the dark mystery

With a band named Bohren & der Club of Gore and album titled Patchouli Blue, one would expect to hear a German dark metal band trying an Eastern spiritual spin. Other than its tonal darkness and some spiritual subtleties, this album could not be further from expectations.

From the first few insidious notes to the sound of a projector being turned off at the end, this album is a series of slow, soothing lullabies composed with consistent jazz elements: sultry saxophone solos, chromatic scales and brushes grazing the snare drum in slow hypnotic procession. First sounding like the eternal stillness of a desert landscape in the pale moonlight, with spiny plant silhouettes dotting the sand, upon closer look, the desert is full of life. Patchouli Blue holds many mysteries within its bounds. Mysteries that might go unidentified to the casual listener.

“Total Falsch” opens with low bassy tones, offering an insidious, intriguing start. The song builds slowly, like a song by the metal band Tool, with each instrument entering one at a time, but it does not have the complexity or tempo of prog rock. This moody, dramatic composition morphs into major key light jazz with undertones of darkness and fantasy. It draws you in.

“Verwirrung am Strand” is a jazz lounge piece infused with darkness and mystery. Brushes on slow drums, emulate waves of the ocean advancing and regressing on the beach while the leading sax line and chords played on organ construct a sparse lullaby. “Glaub mir kein Wort” is similar, but a bit more like a dramatic film score. “Patchouli Blue” sounds like a New Age song playing in the background during a massage therapy session. It’s like a horn is playing solo under a dark night sky speckled with stars. “Deine Kusine” feels like a jazz standard decorated with a chromatic scale. “Vergessen & Vorbei” conveys drama and suspense with a fast-tempo arpeggio framework in the background. The disappearing tones at the end convey isolation.

“Sollen es doch Alle wissen” is a subdued tune. “Tief gesunken” starts with a quintessential prog-rock feel, the excitement of which is quickly squelched by the reintroduction of a sultry saxophone and brushes softly sliding across the snare drum. This one has a bit of an elevator music feel to it, but also has a spacey, time-traveling sensation created with open chords and synth. “Zwei Herzen aus Gold” has a jazz standard feel, like “My Funny Valentine,” but is reinvigorated with the use of the chromatic scale throughout, superimposed over organ chords that would be played on Halloween. “Sag mir, wie lang” opens dramatically, like the pivotal scene of a film, but the suspense quickly dissipates into a slow and sultry jazz piece, with an air of a hot dusty day on the plains. It conjures the image of a band of outlaws looking for trouble in the wild west.

“Meine Welt ist schön” leads one further out beyond familiar territory with tones circling in stereo, moving from left to right evoking a feeling of mystery.

This album is beautifully crafted but tempts me to beg for some toms and some bass drum, some semblance of excitement. In the right circumstance, however, this album could definitely bring one places.