Bandcamp Embers of Belief is a split in the old tradition, two veteran heavy bands sharing a record and a moment, Heavy Psych Sounds putting Birmingham’s Alunah next to Berlin’s Samavayo for a release that doubles as an anniversary lap for both. Splits live or die on contrast, and this one has plenty: Alunah deal in earthy English doom and heavy rock, Samavayo in a warmer, more psychedelic stoner sound with an oriental thread running through it. They make good neighbours.
Alunah lead with two new studio cuts and two live recordings, and oddly it is the live pair that come off best. “On Blacklow Hill” and “La Pucelle” are solid, riff-forward heavy rock, but they are mixed bright and loud in the modern way, the drums squeezed and the edges a little brittle. The live tracks, “Hazy Jane” and “Violet Hour/Hunt”, catch something the studio versions do not: a loose, organic swing, a dominant fuzzed bass leading the charge, real drums in a real room. Alunah have always been a band you want to hear breathe, and live they do.
Samavayo’s three tracks are the reason to stay. “Bavar”, built on Persian lyrics and a Fibonacci structure, is warm, analog and unhurried, a dense fuzz that is allowed to actually move instead of being crushed flat. “California Sky” goes somewhere else entirely, trading the drum kit for hand percussion, a wiry stringed instrument and a low synth drone under a sonorous clean vocal, the most distinctive thing on the whole record. Only “Mottainai” leans into the brickwall modern sound, and even then the guitars cut razor-sharp. It is the more characterful half by a clear margin.
As with any split it is uneven, two bands, two productions, and half of Alunah’s contribution drawn from the stage. But there is real pleasure in hearing two lifers of the heavy underground stretch out side by side, and Samavayo in particular turn their three songs into something memorable. Worth it for the Berliners alone, with Alunah’s live cuts a fine bonus.
A two-band split, and the production splits with it. Alunah’s new studio tracks (“On Blacklow Hill”, “La Pucelle”) are mixed bright and loud, drums squeezed and guitars a touch brittle, while their two live cuts (“Hazy Jane”, “Violet Hour/Hunt”) breathe far more, loose and organic with a dominant fuzzed bass and real-room drums. Samavayo’s half is the better-produced: “Bavar” is warm, analog and dynamic, fuzz that moves rather than crushes, and “California Sky” abandons the drum kit for hand percussion, a wiry stringed instrument and a synth drone under a clean vocal, the standout moment. Only “Mottainai” chases the modern brickwall, though its guitars stay razor-sharp.
Standout tracks: California Sky, Bavar
