2.2 KiB
I Don't Understand the Appeal of Seeking Darkness by Huremic
I have been a fan of Parannoul's music since I first came across To See the Next Part of the Dream in 2021. The studio albums that followed were definitely less interesting to me, but in 2023, he released a live album After the Night which proved to be an incredible experience. In particular, the final track (Into the Endless Night) on the album is a fantastic and deeply emotional 46 minutes that explores genres ranging from his typical shoegaze to ambient to post-rock to harsh noise.
When I heard that Parannoul had released a new post-rock album under the name Huremic, I was excited to hopefully experience something as impactful as Into the Endless Night and while what I listened to was perfectly fine music, but didn't make me feel much of anything. However, when I read other's experiences online, it seems as though the album is universally loved and I am left feeling confused. What is it that is so appealing about this album to other people?
Outside of part 3 which introduces some somewhat interesting folk elements, the five tracks tend to blend into a rather uninteresting haze of noisy and somewhat directionless music. I have seen people compare it to Boris's 2000 album Flood, and while I can see superficial similarities, Flood feels far more coherent and varied than Seeking Darkness. Flood is an album that despite its minimalism, manages to keep me engaged by consistently making me feel something as it slowly meanders through its themes. Seeking Darkness on the other hand does nothing to keep me interested outside of being loud. At least a lot of bad post-rock that abuses dynamics to increase intensity in the easiest way possible (derogatorily called crescendo-core by many) doesn't remain at a steady fortissimo, the whole way through.
I'm just kind of disappointed by this album; it's boring, I expected more, and hope that Parannoul's next project goes in a different direction.