Phalanx feat. the White Rabbit is a male/female duo from Hessen in west-central Germany. The prolific Phalanx has already released two full-length albums, plus two split albums, all since the start of 2009. After the grimy industrial techno of Geburt, HerzSchlag is an EP containing just five tracks, which sees the duo moving into film soundtrack/martial industrial territory.
‘Prelude’ sets the scene with a rumble of timpani, a simple harp motif, and a limpid piano melody. ‘Aus der Tiefe’ merges martial industrial with the modern film soundtrack style of Hans Zimmer et al. ‘Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung’ features low stabbing strings, interspersed with heavenly choirs, and almost Nymanesque piano runs. ‘Aufbruchstimmung’ sounds like a scene from a war film, with military snare rolls, piccolo flute, low riffing strings, and deep kettledrum hits which sound like explosions. The EP concludes with standout track ‘Der Flug des Schmetterlings’ with beautiful reverbed piano lines, a rippling harp part, and smooth strings over a chilled out groove a la Massive Attack.
It will be interesting to see where Phalanx go next from here.
[Available for free download from Notariqon here.]
Ewan Burke
