In early 2009, I stumbled upon Cult of Youth's previous full-length, "A Stick To Bind,A Seed To Grow", and I have been keeping a close eye on them ever since.It's a dark and deeply personal album by one Mr. Sean Ragon, a long time Brooklyn native.This record has so many different elements from various periods in heathen-folk, early goth, and weighs pretty heavy on the pagan chant tip.The lyrics are brutally honest, and filled to the brim with raging fire and black smoke, and just about all of them possess a deep ritualistic occult quality.
Ragon and crew are back with this excellent mini-LP."Filthy Plumage on an Open Sea" kicks off in orderly fashion with a dense blissful strumming and a climbing piano crawl that creeps through most of the track.Ragon joins in with his patented deep croon, and is soon joined by some equally staunch backing voices.COY has always been good at keeping their ultra-dark content somewhat weightless and pleasant.These six tracks prove to be more than just another neo-folk jaunt from this group.At times, the light strumming and haunting backgrounds can bring early Death in June, but the vibe here is much murkier on all fronts.Elements of more traditional folk tactics, and pleasantly clouded group vocal harmonies are more present here, and it pays off pretty handsomely for them in the end.
"Traitorous Blood" is the standout track for me.A rich and rhythmic romp through some mid-paced acoustic percussion, carried by howling black energies.Something about this song is so powerful and invigorating, you will want to play this at high volumes on repeat."Catchy" is quite an understatement.These songs are so insanely infectious and at times hair-raising.Ragon's songwriting has indeed matured since their last lp, and there is a natural progression that sweeps through this batch of songs that radiates feelings of triumphant victory.This is war music for the quiet types.Honest ad heavy,without being too overbearing.A great record,that hopefully gives us some insight to their upcoming LP on Sacred Bones.
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