The Black Ryder - The Door Behind The Door

Hut ab vor denen, die bei den Nennung der Namen Aimee Nash und Scott von Ryper direkt mit dem Bandnamen The Morning After Girls kontern können. Ich musste es erst googeln, kann aber zur Ehrenrettung darauf verweisen, dass wir deren Platten "Shadows Evolve" (2006) und "Alone" (2010) hier vorgestellt haben. 

Beim zweiten genannten Album waren Aimee Nash (Gesang, Gitarre, Percussion) und Scott von Ryper (Gesang, Gitarre, Bass, Keyboards, Percussion) aber bereits nicht mehr Mitglieder der Band, da sie diese 2007 verlassen hatten, um The Black Ryder zu gründen. 2009 veröffentlichten sie ihr Debütalbum "Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride", dem sie nun "The Door Behind The Door" nachfolgen lassen.

Nach einem kurzen, etwas dissonanten, instrumentalen Auftakt ("Babylon") begeben sich The Black Ryder auf einen sanften, atmosphärischen Weg zwischen Dreampop ("Let Me Be Your Light") und Shoegaze ("Santaria"), der mit dem Rsychdelic Rock von The Morning After Girls nur noch wenig zu tun hat. Aimee Nashs zarter Gesang über einer verhallten Soundlandschaft lässt an Slowdive oder Goldfrapp denken, Streicher sowie gospelartiger Chorgesang eher an Spiritualized. Und würde Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) jemals Gastsängerin bei Jason Pierce, so klänge dies wohl wie "Throwing Stones".

"The Door Behind The Door", welches das mittlerweile getrennte Paar über das eigene Label The Anti-Machine Machine veröffentlicht, wird auch von einem instrumentalen Stück abgeschlossen. Jedoch ist bei "Le Dernier Sommeil (The Final Sleep)" der Name auch Programm und es lässt sich in einem flauschigen Bett aus Streichern im Verlauf von mehr als 12 Minuten genüsslich einschlummern.

Babylon is the album’s moody opener. A two minute long instrumental introduction, it reveals very little about what The Black Ryder have in store, but works well to build intrigue and mystery, setting an appropriate mood for the rest of the album to follow.

The second track, Seventh Moon, kicks off the main body of the album in a spectacular fashion. The ethereal layered soundscape with Nash’s weightless vocals would fit comfortably on a Sigur Rós record – matching the Icelandic band’s sensitivity and ability to create lengthy uplifting masterpieces.  The following track, The Going Up Was Worth The Coming Down is far more grounded, however. With the sensitive vocals of Von Ryper driven by a gentle acoustic guitar hook building towards layers of synths and whirring effects, this is a moving indie-rock track that demonstrates the duo’s flexibility and ability to master a range of genres.

Let Me Be Your Light continues the whirring effects of the previous tracks, but augments these with psychedelic tones and more of Nash’s airy vocals. Goldfrapp meets My Bloody Valentine, this track stands out for its unmissible vocal harmonies that swell throughout the chorus. The Black Ryder manage to create amazingly complex soundscapes out of relatively simple layers, sticking to the mantra of ‘less is more’ but disguising it through their masterful songwriting.

Having just been confirmed as the opener for the Jesus and Mary Chain’s 30th Anniversary of Psychocandy tour in May, it’s not surprising to hear their influence, which is especially evident in the Just Like Honey-esque percussion on Santaria.

The following, Throwing Stones sees Nash give a greatly different performance, delivering a bold alto and abandoning her earlier breathy vocals. The track swells from a simple acoustic guitar introduction to a dramatic choral climax that boasts a mass of voices. This is then contrasted by the swirling psychedelics of All That We Are, which also sports a large choral congregation, but this time is far more ethereal.

Layers of strings conclude The Door Behind The Door, tying up this album with an epic twelve minute-long outro titled Le Dernier Sommeil or The Final Sleep.

With The Door Between The Door the listener never quite knows what they’ll expect, but they can be confident that whatever the band have up their sleeve is sure to impress. It might have been a lengthy wait for fans of The Black Ryder, but it was a worthwhile one. The hard work of the duo over the past six years has resulted in a masterpiece.

(Renowned For Sound)