Siberian Earth Curve

By the time of his second album proper, Siberian Earth Curve, Campbell Kneale of Birchville Cat Motel had already built quite a catalogue of limited releases via his self-run Celebrate Psi Phenomenon label. But this was one of his first international releases, and it’s a significant statement of intent. Much like its self-titled predecessor, Siberian Earth Curve proceeds at a leisurely pace, with Kneale applying and removing coatings of coal-deep and pitch-black noise slowly – there’s a real sense of grace, and measured sensitivity, on tracks like the closing title piece, or “Snakes Bark Maple”. There’s something seductive in the way Kneale builds his music, too, and a real capacity for the listener to be lost in time – it’s an early, yet quite articulate, expression of Kneale’s unceasing love for the elemental eternal.