Lux Interna - God Is Not Dead For The Birds

I must confess to not knowing anything about Lux Interna but God Is Not Dead For The Birds features a richly evocative set of acoustic based songs. The acoustic guitar playing is clear and precise reminding of Current 93, Death In June and Backworld, with deep resonating vocals, couched in gentle female harmonies. At times, I'm reminded of the Swans forays into acoustic based songs. But accompanied by cellos, vioins, dulcimer and mandolin Lux Interna's dark folk shares an affinity with the burgeoning neo-folk scene, though Lux Interna, thankfully avoid the pitfalls of that genre. A romantic and spiritual stream runs through God Is Not Dead For The Birds putting them closer to Changes, rather than the generic neo-folk types that Lux Interna will undoubtedly be compared to. Joshua Gentzke's voice is expressive and strong as he wrestles with big questions concerning existence and religion. 'Into Nothing (Blackwatersong)' and 'Under The Leaves of Light' are strong representations of Lux Interna's songwriting capabilities. The latter underpinned by a finger pickin' mandolin gives the acoustic track a feeling of dark Americana. When Gentzke's deep tones combine with his partner's silken voice it gives the melancholic songs a tinge of country and western. 'Blossoms', a gentle piano based ballad, is the best example of this. 'West of Eden', meanwhile, is much more folky, with violins and cello deepening the sound, in a track that references philosophers such as Descartes, Hume, Kant and Milton. 'Her Lily White Hands' is a breezy number of acoustic dark folk-pop concerning love, death and religion.

God Is Not Dead For The Birds is unarguably dark folk, but it's performed consistently well and it's a cohesive selection of morose and sombre songs, with a particularly singular take on Gnosticism. All in all, it's an assured and confident release from a group of American musicians and artists who will only gain in popularity as their exposure increases. For more information go to www.eislicht.de