Damaged Lethal Harmonies
2005, Dreamland Recordings
Maybe it was the skull and crossbones and the radiation symbol on the front cover. Or maybe it was the presence of the words “Damaged Lethal Harmonies”. But whatever the case, I somehow got it into my mind Damaged Lethal Harmonies by Rondel Kilgore and Heath Yonaites would be one of those “extreme” recordings. Something akin to the Japanoise scene, or boasting a battery of power electronics. The truth is far more genteel, and, I suspect, more pleasant and interesting.
Utilizing sound sources ranging from banjo and charango (a guitar-like instrument from the Andes mountains) to the Melbourne Subterranean Children’s Choir, Damaged Lethal Harmonies offers up a series of brooding atmospheric pieces that, upon closer listen, aren’t quite as brooding as initially thought.