Daxma – Unmarked Boxes
Blues Funeral Recordings & Majestic Mountain Records
Release Date: 19.11.21
Running Time: 57:21
Review by Rick Eaglestone
7/10
Directly inspired by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi’s poem, Oakland’s Daxma return with their new album “Unmarked Boxes”, which explores difficult personal topics such as grief, depression, longing, and the process of overcoming.
Opening track ‘The Clouds Parted’ woefully weaves into elements of 90’s style My Dying Bride – it’s thirteen and a half minutes of bleak yet undeniably beautiful soundscapes, with varying directional changes. I particularly love the slow build up into the heavier parts and back again. When tracks are done this well you really do not notice the length of them. This is followed by the shorter instrumental ‘And the Earth Swallowed Our Shadows’.
My highlight track ‘Hiraeth’ is up next, and yet again it is another thirteen-and-a-half-minute track. It’s heavier than the opener, and the guitar parts blend fantastically well. I also love the dual vocal parts. This, much like the previous tracks, is followed by another instrumental track ‘Saudade’.
Given the subject matter ‘Anything You Lose’ is emotionally charged in the right places, the heavier parts are subtle, and when the dual vocals take hold it really encapsulates the overall mood and feel of the album.
Lastly ‘Comes Back in Another Form’ has a minimalistic vocal presence which is only really highlighted in the middle of the track, as between those parts, building drum patterns and bleak soundscapes take over.
Daxma comment, “As a band, we have been working on this material for some time, only recently feeling like we’ve undergone the musical and spiritual growth necessary to achieve our vision and put this album out into the world.”
Overall, the orchestration, guitar tones, and melodies are wonderful, for me I would have liked to have more of the above, with the dual vocal, and slightly fewer instrumental pieces.
TRACKLISTING:
01. The Clouds Parted
02. And the Earth Swallowed our Shadows
03. Hiraeth
04. Saudade
05. Anything You Loose
06. Comes Back in Another Form
LINE-UP:
Isaac R. – Guitars, Vocals, Bass
Jessica T. – Violin, Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Forrest H. – Guitar, Bass
Thomas I. – Drums
LINKS:
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