Landscapes both seen and felt, real and imagined, lie at the heart of In All
That Drifts From Summit Down, the vast debut full-length release from nomadic
duo A Dead Forest Index. Comprised of brothers Adam Sherry (vocals/guitar) and
Sam Sherry (drums/piano), the group crafts ethereal and intensely intimate
compositions that defy trends and labeling, instead shaping an aural experience
as organic as it is unpredictable. Forsaking instrumental complexity in favor of
richly dense vocals and an otherwise minimal palette, the band evokes heaviness
with the atmosphere they create rather than through blunt force. Teaming-up with
Sargent House on the heels of a recent European tour supporting labelmate
Chelsea Wolfe, A Dead Forest Index are poised to introduce their sound to a
global audience in 2016.
A Dead Forest Index was initially the solo project of Adam Sherry, begun in
2008. By 2010, it had evolved into a collaboration, with Sam Sherry supplying
percussive depth to his brother’s distinctively hymnal approach to vocals,
itself characterized by cyclical harmonies and experiments with drone.
Untethered by place (or, for that matter, era), they’ve spent the past few
years developing their sound, touring extensively between 2012–2014, and
issuing the EPs “Antique” and “Cast of Lines” in the process. The latter
was released by Jehnny Beth of Savages’ Pop Noire label, a precursor to the
collaborative Savages/A Dead Forest Index composition and performance titled
“In What I’m Seeing; the Sun” for the Barbican’s Station to Station
Festival in 2015.
Though basing themselves periodically in locales as far-flung as Melbourne and
London, the oceanic grandeur of A Dead Forest Index’s songs suggests a
spiritual mooring in their homeland of New Zealand. Their influences are rich
and untapped: the poetic, archaic ‘deep song’ of Indian and Andalusian
origin, Romanian lăutari troupe Taraf de Haidouks, and the allegorical
symbolism found in William Blake have all been cited as antecedents. The group
have themselves been compared to The Velvet Underground with Nico, Scott Walker,
Swans with Jarboe, and Antony and the Johnsons, to name a few.
In All That Drifts From Summit Down, their debut album, is a testimony to the
sublime divinity of nature and the cold reality of time’s passage. Unfolding
over 13 tracks, the album imagines natural phenomena as poetic metaphor for the
human condition, the lyrics evoking stone, cold air, unyielding emptiness and
erosion, while the enveloping warmth of Adam Sherry’s layered, choral vocals
makes for an intriguing contrast. “Cast of Lines” is a prime example of
this, its rapturous “In all our currents / a fog upon the sea at night”
mantra accompanied by little more than a strumming guitar. Sam
Sherry’s steady rhythms propel some tracks, like “Tide Walks” and “No
Paths”. “Ringing Sidereal”, on the other hand, unwinds more slowly, a dark
cavern of a song with flickering sparks of percussion emerging only where
necessary. Occasionally swells of noise take shape. On “In Greyness the
Water”, a slow-building churn buffers the repeating “In… fall… colour”
chorus that penetrates through the cacophony like spires through fog. Savages
guitarist Gemma Thompson guests on two tracks, providing a wiry undercurrent to
the brilliant postpunk stomp of “Myth Retraced”, before fortifying the
processional stride of “Sand Verse”. In All That Drifts From Summit
Down is a potent, compelling statement, an exercise in restraint and severity
whose icy hue only accentuates the warmth at its core.
A Dead Forest Index epitomize the possibilities of the modern age. Weaving
threads of disparate influence from around the world into a captivating
tapestry, the duo exemplify their own transience, producing mature, wholly
inspired work unbound by time or place.
QUOTES:
“’No Paths’ is a song that’s constantly pushing forward, brushing of sadness and into a sense of understanding. Vocals are lush and warm, pulsing emotion and heart around the guitars to build something beautiful and resonant.” – Noisey, “No Paths” premiere
“Teetering with elegance, the track evokes emotion with brooding lyricism and goose bump rising echoes. There’s every feeling that there’s even deeper heart to delve into across all thirteen tracks of In All That Drifts From Summit Down.” – The 405, “No Paths” post
“First single ‘No Paths’ indicates that the brothers in arms Adam Sherry and Sam Sherry are on the cusp of something much more grandiose than their two-part outfit might suggest.” – State.ie, “No Paths”
“Ghostly vocals and cinematic delivery from the Sherry brothers foreshadows a stunning record this spring.” – Dusty Organ, “No Paths”
“There’s a grand, sweeping momentum to their music: they craft songs that are incredibly intimate and stark to the point that they become quite unsettling.” – The Independent UK, “Myth Retraced” premiere
“Savages guitarist Gemma Thompson performs on the track, which steers the Jesus & Mary Chain’s tambourine-shaking drone in a shadowy, grandiose, almost gothic direction.” – Stereogum, “Myth Retraced” premiere