Who once was a fan of Dead Can Dance, or still is respectively, probably won’t have lost entirely track of Lisa Gerrard and BRENDAN PERRY. But contrary to Lisa, who regularly releases solo albums and soundtracks, it took 11 years for BRENDAN PERRY to release his second work entitled Ark. And for that we have to be much thankful, as there were worries that he might completely retire from the scene.
Was the debut Eye Of The Hunter (1999) still orchestrated in a minimalist way, BRENDAN PERRY now draws on plentiful resources and at the same time bridges back to the past with Dead Can Dance. He starts and finishes Ark with Babylon and Crescent, two songs he had specially written for the last DCD tour back in the time.
Ark opens opulent and orchestral with dark Ambient soundscapes, disturbing brasses and almost mesmerizing percussions (Babylon, The Bogus Man). Afterwards quieter tunes define the scenery with unobtrusive electronicas and rhythms as in Wintersun. On This Boy again he reaches out and slightly scratches Dark Jazz fields, a song that brings Bohren to mind. Additionally spinet-like tones, deep-tuned basses, oriental as well as Irish Folk splashes leave a modest mark on, with a misty touch of Neoclassic. The circle gets closed with The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea and Crescent that stand out a bit again. But all would have been just half worth without the wonderful, warm and sensual sonorous voice and singing of BRENDAN PERRY. He manages to create such an intensive atmosphere with his music, wins favor totally. Ark is a wonderful album to listen to again and again!