The coming together of the front-man of experimental rockers Oxbow and the multi-instrumentalist behind Stray Ghost can only set the saliva glands of fans of unique and adventurous music into overdrive. The unique voice of Eugene S. Robinson and the unbridled skill of Anthony Saggers seems like a moribund match made in heaven.

Indeed it seems from the outset of the pairings début under the moniker Stranger By Starlight, Chalk White Nights (Bad Paintings), seemed pre-ordained. The strained, tortured vocal style of Robinson is reminiscent of Rozz Williams‘ work on album such as The Whorses Mouth or Nick Cave’s ‘Your Funeral… My Trial’. While the jazz-tinged dark ambience of Saggers‘ soundtrack gives the album a distinctly noir atmosphere recalling novels by the likes of Raymond Chandler, and even William Burroughs.

It is an album meant for the somnambulist, the insomniac and other haunters of cold urban nights. ‘The Night Of No Sleep’, ‘An Organist’ and ‘Black Cat’ are challenging tracks with their discordant edges, but are incredibly rewarding listens that you can easily loose yourself in. The most accessible track on the album can be found in the form of the seedy jazz strains of ‘Beautiful Boy With A Stone’, and still it’s steady repetitive beat punctuated by a malevolent organ and the anguished vocals make it just as disquieting.

The songs on Chalk White Nights follows the overall atmosphere of the album. However each track is so distinct and unique it gives the album an epistolary feel, perhaps even a portmanteau-like structure with each song providing a different narrative for some forlorn character that inhabits the urban twilight.

This album lives up to the skills of the two men that have come together to create it. The use of multiple instruments including guitars, electronics and saxophone find a perfect foil in Robinson‘s expressive vocals.

Casual listeners will no doubt find this to be a dense and morose album to try and get into. But for those who like ambient music, strong lyrical narratives performed by emotional and expressive ways will find this to be a must have.

8.5/10

Sean M. Palfrey

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