Album Review: Kirin J Callinan - Embracism

It creeps up on you from a dark and disturbed corner of your bedroom. It circles you as you sleep, oblivious that your night will soon change forever. Then, like a humanless, faceless shadow, it leaps on top of you, screams at you, wrestles you so you cannot move, and force-feeds your ears for nearly an hour. “It” is Embracism.

Claustrophobic in its nature, Kirin J Callinan – with a little help from The Presets' Kim Moyes on production duties – has concocted a record worthy of a place at Tom Waits' and Trent Reznor's dinner table. His gravelly, growling voice is the stuff of nightmares and horror movies, and when paired with the dark electronic beats – almost recalling Aphex Twin at times (such as Come On USA) in their hysterical nature – there's a sense that we might not make it out alive.

There are moments of relief, though: Victoria M has been chosen as one of the singles for a reason, given its (semi-) commercial appeal. Compared with the majority of the rest of the album it carries a strong melody and structure, and would feel at home being delivered in a stadium setting – although a disturbing film clip certainly isn't going to see it on Video Hits (do they still have that show?) anytime soon. Tender moments like Scraps and Landslide release the tension further on the back half of the album, giving some much-needed breathing room. There's a hint of British songwriter Dan Michaelson about these softer tunes, although Callinan is at his demonic best when he's shredding his vocal chords on songs like the title track and opener Halo.

A confronting and artistic record, Embracism is certainly not for everyone. It is, however, an ambitious – and strangely beautiful – release from a talented young man.