With a simple but generous premise — Dutch indie music distro Konkurrent gives bands two days in the studio to record absolutely anything they want — the ongoing “Fishtank” musical project represents indie rock’s unconstrained collaborative spirit. Its excellent 11th installment benefits from this cooperation: The sweeping gothic statements by San Diego’s Black Heart Procession and Dutch natives Solbakken would make any paleface weep black tears of joy.
The gaunt specter of Nick Cave — along with the dirge-heavy side of BHP’s 2002 disc Amore del Tropico — cloaks this deliciously funereal CD in a dark veil of swarthy piano, minor chords, and moody, fatalistic drawls. “Voiture en Rouge” conjures images of a French vampire flick, with shadowy strings marching to their death in step with seductive-temptress vocals. Despite the tragicomic lyrics of the bone-chilling “Dog Song”(“There is a dog/That waits for me/At my front door/It lays asleep”), the poignancy of the disc-closing “Your Cave” — an intricate latticework of pealing bells and unbelievable sadness — supersedes all. In fact, in the best way possible, 11 sounds like an epitaph for the end of the world.
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2004.