Communions - Pure Fabrication

On their sophomore album of Odyssian size and scope, Communions weave an intricate tapestry from "cultural debris". While Pure Fabrication follows the arc of a reverse coming of age story, Communions Rehof brothers have arrived at a point of bold artistic maturity.

Following the journey of a fictional protagonist, Pure Fabrication opens on the themes of liberation, independence, freedom, transformation - the ingredients of a coming of age story - and the character's pursuit of them. Yet, as the album progresses, strong ironic overtones in whatever praise of freedom was besung are slowly unveiled. While the opening songs represent a character with an - perhaps naive - assertiveness and unwillingness to be restrained or suppressed by the ways of the world, by the end of the record, the protagonist questions the entire notion of desire and freedom.

Communions effortlessly straddle the cerebral and the visceral; abrasive punk sensibilities from the artistic underground of Copenhagen's Mayhem scene are married with anthemic indie- and pop-rock. The 15 track, hour-long album embraces creative production techniques, all without venturing too far towards the infamous harshness of their Mayhem milieu. In addition, Communions have also broadened their instrumentation and creative approach from their strictly four-piece, stripped performance on Blue.