Peter Bjärgö – The Translucency Of Mind’s Decay (Album – Cyclic Law)
Genre/Influences: Ethereal, Dark-Ambient, Cinematographic.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Peter Bjärgö is back on track, unleashing this year the fifth official album of his solo-work. The songs have been composed during the quarantine, which has been an inspiring period for the artist –known for his involvement with Arcana, Sophia, Karjalan Sissit ao… The result has been introduced as something new…
Content: I would say the album isn’t something ‘new’ in the career of Bjärgö rather than getting back to some influences and sound he elaborated with Arcana. There’s still the Cinematographic and Dark-Ambient approach, but the work also features explicit Ethereal inspiration reminding me of Arcana. The work is switching from haunting atmospheres towards dark reverie while enlightened by mystic parts composed by Eastern instruments. Peter Bjärgö’s deep, haunting timbre of voice injects an extra dark touch to the work.
+ + + : I’ve been always fascinated by the mystic sound universe created by Arcana so seeing this musician getting back to some of his ‘early’ influences is pretty enjoyable. But this is not Arcana, but simply Peter Bjärgö mixing different influences from his career as a musician. The work has something of ‘apocalyptic ballads’, but other parts are evoking ‘Eastern mysticism and reverie’. Some songs have a true transcendental effect. I like the production of the vocals, which rather sounds as an extra effect injecting a ghost-like sensation. Because of all these elements the work has a strong visual appeal.
– – – : The album has something versatile, mixing different styles, but in the end it appears to be Bjärgö’s best solo-album.
Conclusion: Delicate and mystic, dark and haunting, the new Peter Bjärgö work sounds like a great vintage.
Best songs: “Immaculate Judgement”, “Séraphita”, “Dreams Coloring My Awakedness”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/PeterBjargo
Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw Read the news on ‘The Translucency Of Mind’s Decay’.
About Peter Bjärgö
Peter Bjärgö is a Swedish musician and vocalist born on April 26, 1974. Discogs records that he changed his surname from Pettersson to Bjärgö when he married Cecilia Bjärgö in 2003. He is known for the neoclassical project Arcana, for Sophia and for Karjalan Sissit, and has worked as a producer and mixing engineer on releases for Cyclic Law and other labels.
His solo catalogue opened with “Out Of The Darkling Light, Into The Bright Shadow” in 2005 and continued with “A Wave Of Bitterness” in 2009, “The Architecture Of Melancholy” in 2011, “Animus Retinentia” in 2017 and “Structures And Downfall” in 2019. Side-Line covered the 2019 album alongside the reissues of the two earlier records in Peter Bjärgö to release new album ‘Structures And Downfall’ and re-issues of ‘A Wave Of Bitterness’ and ‘The Architecture Of Melancholy’ albums.
“The Translucency Of Mind’s Decay” was written and recorded during 2020 and released by Cyclic Law in April 2021. The eight-track album came as a CD edition of 500 copies in a six-panel matt-laminated digipak, a standard LP edition of 200 copies on black vinyl and a special LP edition of 100 copies on blue and grey marbled vinyl. Bjärgö discussed the record later that year in the Click Interview with Peter Bjärgö: ‘Music Is What Makes Me Keep Going’.
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