Water Borders – Harbored Mantras

Unique. It has a vibe that you won't find elsewhere. It dives into entrancing rhythms and is experimental enough to keep you on your toes.

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I've never been a fan of the 'witch-house' tag, so I'll refer to Water Borders' debut, HARBORED MANTRAS, as 'goth-house,' as it is steeped in atmosphere, but with a beat. "Tread on Me," the opener, is dense with atmosphere, and offers a taste of the vocal stylings, which I characterize as trying to hard to channel Ian Curtis. The vocals affectation becomes more apparent in "What Wiwant," even as the bass hits a little harder. The introduction of Group Rhoda onto "Waldenpond.com" adds a dreamier element to the slower track, while "Bad Ethos" seems to suggest The Knife stopped by for a visit. "Even in the Dark" hints at a more bucolic setting, but "Feeding on Mongeese" gets back to some subdued house rhythms. The subterranean tones of "Miners" offers a sense of claustrophobia that lingers into the polyrhythmic percussion of "Antechamber." I'm somewhat on the border on how I feel about this album...

On a recent trip to New York I visited the city's finest independent record store, Other Music. The staff there know their stuff and recommended this album noting influences including Coil and various artists on Hyperdub, which seems like a pretty good description of Harboured Mantras.

There is a lot of haunting strangeness going on. Deep, mostly male vocals are are processed and twisted, echoing through the mix. The beats and baselines are forceful and heavy on most tracks, certainly a dubstep influence from Burial to the more dancefloor orientated producers. The atmosphere is dark, almost tribal. Overall it is more accessible than Coil but still experimental and challenging. A nice little release from the leftfield.