Bestia-Eternal Unions; (iN)Sect Records:IRS-078; digital single, 2022

 

Have things become hypermodern enough for you? The events of the past two years seem to have bifurcated society into camps that are either embracing this phase or rejecting it. Sadly, this cleaving has not exactly been of the most light nature; it seems safe to assume that everyone has lost something or someone as this realm which we inhabit has been pushed into some new form which has the heaviness of being pre-ordained somewhere, by entities seemingly far beyond comprehension. In short, this period has been pretty damn dark, and hypermodernism seems to have a lot to do with that darkness. 

Disaster Amnesiac mentions this as a way of introducing Eternal Unions, by Bestia, because its composer, Conrad Gonzalez, has embraced hypermodern means of realizing this new single. I'd also like to put forth the proposition that Eternal Unions give the listener multiple glimpses into sonic light and beauty that do a fine job of sloughing off some much of the darkness that has swirled around and seeped into so much of our lives. Bestia utilizes strictly digital/computer-based methods in order to put forward this audio light to uplifting results. 

The track skids into existence with a kind of glitch-ey sound, which seems to presage a more Noise-based feel, but then quickly lifts off into these heavenly washes that lead the listener into serene spaces of contemplative largo. These spaces are warm and welcoming, even if occasionally touched by strange electronic squiggles. Lovely flatted arpeggio float by, providing melodic counterpoint and grounding to the more abstract elements. It's an astute blending of light and shadow, much like watching January clouds, dappled by sunlight but filled with moisture, drift by your window. As I've listened, the concerns of whichever daily crisis that I'm supposed to by hypmodern-ly tuned in to have fallen away, and I'm left with a perception that is much more engaged with  the  moment, and much less inclined towards distraction. In that, Bestia is bestowing a nice favor upon the listener to Eternal Unions. 

Over the course of ten minutes, a calming musical utopia is, to borrow a term from Gonzalez, quilted together. It's a quilt that Disaster Amnesiac has found to be supremely pleasant to wrap myself up in. As this dumpster fire of a hypermodern era drags on, it's most welcome, and I can only image the kind happiness that a full length of music of this sort from Bestia would bring.