Anok Pe Current 93 - Birth Canal Blues

Apocalyptic folk summon a new age

Birth Canal Blues is a departure marking a beginning; the passionate pre-echo of the latest chapter in the ever-evolving cycle of David Tibet’s remarkable Current 93. This reissue of a limited edition 2008 tour EP heralds the launch of Tibet’s new Coptic Cat imprint, the rebranding of the group as Anok Pe Current 93, and pre-empts the eagerly anticipated Hallucinatory Mountain trilogy due out early next year.

For the most part it also marks a shift in sound, away from the bloated and over-populated excesses of the group’s Black Ships Ate The Sky and back to the harrowing piano glissandi that made albums such as Soft Black Stars and Sleep Has His House so beguiling. Baby Dee’s performance on the keys here is revelatory, her subtle melodic touches the perfect foil for Tibet’s mystical incantations; magical poetic mutterings increasingly dwelling on the more apocalyptical aspects of Christian esoterica. During She Took Us To The Places Where The Sun Sets, the transcendental calm which envelops much of this record is unequivocally shattered by a demonically-enhanced black metal Tibet howling, “I will murder you.” It’s a typically passionate declaration announcing the assassination of an unwanted past, trumpeting the titular birth of a brighter future for one of the most fascinating groups to emerge from England’s “hidden reverse”.

Coptic Cat | CC 001

Reviewed by Spencer Grady
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