Chiron - 2022 - The Sun Goes Down

(47:36; Dark Vinyl)

Track list:
1. Surrender 5:07
2. Rage 1:41
3. Sadly 3:34
4. Darker Days 4:27
5. Let Us Begin 3:14
6. Deep Inside 4:54
7. Frantic 3:52
8. Forsaken 4:58
9. Decline 4:48
10. That Feeling 2:52
11. Torn 3:51
12. Darker Days (Jean Marc Ledderman Remix) 4:18

Line-up:
Michael Aliani - vocals, guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion
Dino Molinaro - bass, cello
Leanne Coe - saxophone


Australian band Chiron has been a going concern for the past 25 years or thereabouts, and is established as something of an underground cul favorite among people with a more dedicated interest in music generally described as dark in mood and atmosphere. Following a longer spell of inactivity as a recording unit the band released the album *The Sun Goes Down" in 2022 through German label Dark Vinyl.

My only previous experience with this band was their Best Of compilation from 2015, a production that documented a creative band moving inside of a Gothic, post-punk and new wave triangle somewhere. As of 2022 it is safe to say that the band have left that universe behind, with only a token few nods in that direction remaining.

Just how to describe this album inside of a style orientation is just about impossible. The music is dark and futuristic in general, and I suspect the closest I can get in terms of inventing a genre description here is dystopian industrial music. This is less of a definition and more of an indication though, and where the expression dystopian is rather more descriptive and accurate than the industrial expression.

We have songs here that in terms of elements correspond fairly close to what one might describe as synth pop for instance, of the kind where a band like Erasure comes to mind. But whereas the rhythms are vital and energetic and the movements are jubilant, the tones and the timbres used come with dark, brooding and alien associations, like a party thrown at a distant planet where everyone is having a final hurrah before the planet blows up.

Then we have songs with the firm and driving bass line that Chiron seems to have made such liberal use of on previous albums, but with a more militant and sharp use of rhythms along with a more dramatic vocal delivery that transforms these songs into more brooding and edgy creations closer to the landscapes explored by Jerome Reuter's project Rome. Probably music within a post-punk sphere of reference, but with a much sharper edge to the landscapes explored.

Then we have the more direct dystopian creations here, with futuristic textures aplenty, liberal use of saxophone details seemingly pulled in from the more expressive parts of Hawkwind's back catalogue, occasional groove-laden bass lines that may have been lifted from Gary Numan's early to mid 80's experimental synth pop albums and synthesizers and effects with tones and timbres that have the cold, alien feel of early 80's Tangerine Dream or the darkest and more introverted brooding sections from Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack. With some cuts coming across as prime candidates for the soundtrack of the next movie given a strict cyberpunk setting.

Just about the only stream of sunlight that appears on this album comes due to the power of a song remix, with the remixed version of 'Darker Days' transforming this song from a brooding display of introverted melancholia to a more playful and uplifting post-punk flavored creation with a more positive and outward oriented mood and atmosphere. This is a case of metamorphosis on a higher level, and an appropriate step out of the darkness at the end of the album journey.

To my ears and my mind this is a most solid production with a wealth of enthralling moods and atmospheres to enjoy for the correct audience. This isn't a production that will ever have a universal or broad appeal, but for those who enjoy dark, dystopian and futuristic music with eerie and alien moods and a creative use and approach of various forms of electronic music ranging from score music through to industrial landscapes and over to some synth pop outliers, this is a production that can be quite the mesmerizing and haunting experience.

Olav M. Björnsen, February 2023

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/chirongothic