THE GATHERING - "Home", 2006 (The End Records)

Simple melodies and profound results.

While some bands evolve at a snail’s pace, Dutch rock luminaries THE GATHERING can’t seem to help pulling their listeners harder and harder with each release. Despite the fact that its ambitious production budget looms larger than early records, “Home� presents thirteen songs strategically pruned to their bare essence and garnished with the luscious vocals of Anneke Giersbergen.

The songs are presented in a similar fashion to 2003’s “Souvenirs� album. Long gone are the days of crashing drums and traditional guitar leads. Anneke’s voice is given abundant space to breathe, with spectacular results. Honestly, her voice over samples of clattering dishes and ringing cell phones is enough for a beautiful song. This is no mystery to the band; both 2000’s “if_then_else� and 2003’s “Souvenirs� hinted that reducing the sonic elements competing with the vocals would only grow the impact of the finished product exponentially. While this is anything but a low-fi recording, it seems stylistically that less is more for THE GATHERING these days. Simple, looped piano passages or dreamy clean guitar melodies are all van Giersbergen needs to launch her gripping vocal hooks and deeply personal lyrics. At times, the arrangements recall the later PJ HARVEY stuff, but only if you substitute reflective vocal elegance for Polly Jean’s punky “Lick this, boys� antics. “Waking Hour� twinkles with serene, NEW ORDER-ish synth droplets and commanding basslines from newcomer Marjolein Kooijman. “Your Troubles are Over� cycles through layers of bell-like guitar splash a la U2 or TELEVISION, and “Solace� is a campy affair that alternates marching drums with sultry Spanish female narration. Frankly, I was waiting for a Brian Ferry vocal cameo to kick in at any moment.

Miraculously, this business of trip-hoppy minimalism and vocal supremacy doesn’t seem like an offering from “Anneke van Giersbergen and Her Magic Band�. As she warned us in several recent interviews, the thread of dark drama from the early records runs strong through many cuts here, like “A Noise Severe� and the title track. THE GATHERING has managed to succeed where many prog and metal bands have failed, cutting back the branches of sonic excess to unleash a listening experience taller and more vibrant than ever.

4 out of 5

OFFICIAL SITE: www.gathering.nl

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Toodles.

This is a most important album to check out. The band has been quite astonishing in its changes over the years. And Anneke is a goddess. Gonna check it out as soon as I can

I've not been able to get into this band. Which songs would you recommend?

Well, what got me into the band was the Mandylion album, back in 1995, particularly "Leaves" and "Elanor." They've morphed some since then, gradually even mellowing out a bit. My only real knock on Mandylion is that the guitar fights for the high end with Anneke's voice - a production screwup that will probably get someone killed one day.

Later material is smoother, and it is away from the more standard metal. I would say, to be fair, that if you don't like it after a few listens, to maybe put it away for a while and try it again, but I don't think it's worth it to keep listening to them to see if you "get it." Their appeal is pretty straightforward.