DAMA/LIBRA is a new project from Joel RL Phelps—best known as the former singer/guitarist for Silkworm and current leader of the Downer Trio—and G. Stuart Dahlquist of Asva, formerly of Sunn O))), Goatsnake, and Burning Witch. Fans looking for a Phelps and/or Dahlquist solo project, in which one musician’s artistic vision and strengths are jettisoned to elevate the other’s, will be disappointed. But open-minded fans and patient, uninitiated listeners will be rewarded, as DAMA/LIBRA is a partnership that’s artfully smudged with the fingerprints of both of its participants.
DAMA/LIBRA’s experimental meditations are heavy, though not in the typical sense. Dahlquist is known mostly for doom metal, and DAMA/LIBRA's sound certainly doesn't traffic in that genre—but connecting the dots between his former bands and DAMA/LIBRA isn’t too much of a stretch. Dahlquist is using different tools here, particularly organ, chimes, bells, and lots of open space; distorted guitar shows up only briefly on “The Chant” and again in a vampy outro for “Only Medicine”. Claw’s low rumbles and drones are doom-y in their own way and best heard loudly. It’s bizarre, enthralling and unlike anything I’ve heard in a while—like two guys playing a less world-y version of Dead Can Dance in an empty church.
Closing track “Thine” is the piece that first brought Dahlquist and Phelps together; it initially existed as an instrumental collaboration between Asva and French artist Philippe Petit. After hearing the track, Phelps reached out to Dahlquist and asked if he could add some vocals, which he did, dividing the song into three stanzas: “Stolen, sleeping, broken, thine,” “Stolen, pardon, mercy, mercy,” and “wake, shine, always, rise.” Dahlquist said the final result of “Thine” nearly brought he and his wife to tears, and the piece's redemptive progression is certainly noticeable. Phelps has often become synonymous with hopeful catharsis, as heard on Gala, the 2013 release from Joel RL Phelps & the Downer Trio, or on his contributions to Songs: Molina, a benefit compilation “for Jason Molina’s survivors.” His songs are soaked in almost-KOs and their resuscitative aftermaths.
Without Phelps, much of Claw would sound like hymns for the doomed, and that wouldn’t be all bad. Some tracks play to those strengths (“Destroy”, the lyric-less, thunder-clapping “Death Rattle”). But Phelps is taking these hymns for the doomed and turning them into survival canticles for the day after doomsday, when the dust has settled and you realize that maybe it wasn’t doomsday after all.
It doesn’t take much digging into the personal lives of Phelps and Dahlquist to make some educated guesses about Claw’s inspirations, even though the lyrics are vague enough that they could point to many things. Given Phelps’ openness about his struggles with alcohol addiction, it’s probably not a stretch to apply much of Claw’s hopefulness to his sobriety. Plus, Dahlquist and Phelps have known each other for 25 years, along the way sharing tragedies like the death of Dahlquist’s brother Michael, the Silkworm drummer who was the victim of a woman’s failed vehicular suicide attempt in 2005. Those are some long, deeply intertwined roots, which undoubtedly helped bridge the distance gap as the two emailed files back and forth between British Columbia and Seattle while putting the record together.
The downside to Phelps’ cathartic tendencies and off-kilter vocal style is that he sometimes misses his mark. In a more traditional rock group like the Downer Trio, the notes he doesn’t quite hit become part of a larger package; with DAMA/LIBRA, the straining and reaching beyond his register work on songs like “Boy, Dock”—the prettiest, most hymn-like on Claw—and “Been to the Water,” probably the only song you’ll find yourself humming later. But on “Only Medicine” Phelps’ reedy sliding and stretching can be grating, and when he beckons the guitars with a yell of “Welcome to the niiiight,” it feels like a failed attempt at sounding metal. Still, none of those moments ruin any song entirely, nor this adventurous record as a whole. A few sour notes is a fair tradeoff for a sound this fresh.
