SHE SPREAD SORROW - 'Huntress'

CSR282CD (October 2021)
CD in 6-panel digipak.
Barcode: 0641871745739





"Huntress" by She Spread Sorrow (Alice Kundalini) is the story of a huntress and her morbid and psychotic relationship with her prey. The protagonist is Blue, a girl whose existence is marked by obsession with another woman of the same age and by nightmares that leave her without peace. Between love and psychosis, a tragic story is consumed, which vibrates in the stomach, like the music that accompanies it - dark and hypnotic death industrial, with moments of dark ambient, power electronics and noise.

Inspired by Kundalini’s nightmares and her fervent world of dreams, "Huntress" was born after 3 years of intense recordings. It pursues the need to whisper secret, forbidden tales and to stimulate the deepest shadows of the human being, exploring the boundaries between the delicate and the violent; between love and obsession; between fantasy and madness.

"Huntress" is the soundtrack of a tragic game between opposites in a reality of total solitude.

CD in 6-panel digipak, with striking photography by Stefano Majno.

Track listing:

1. Blue (6:09)
2. Get Me (5:08)
3. Stand (5:03)
4. Dragonflies (5:56)
5. Inside (7:24)
6. Parasomnias (10:32)

Best Release Of 2021 as voted by: Side-Line, Scene Point Blank, Devil's Breath

REVIEWS:

"What Kundalini has accomplished on “Huntress” is a true masterpiece. She’s not only creating her very own kind of Ambient/Industrial music, but still a minimal production built up with poignant Electronic sequences and anguishing atmospheres. “Huntress” is a tormenting experience, but one you simply want to immediately renew after the last track. The last track “Parasomnias” is the longest and most elaborated piece of the work, but my personal favorite cut is “Stand” for the great sequences and demonic sphere... Alice Kundalini has accomplished her magnum opus!" (9/10, Side-Line)

"The overall effect is that rare artistic achievement where brutality and beauty become intertwined into a hypnotic landscape of deep emotions. Kundalini’s unique sound is both industrial and dark ambient, with brushes of death metal, noise rock and large psychedelic spaces... These haunting five minutes [of Dragonflies] brings the album closest to music that would fit a horror film soundtrack, unsettling, while at times simultaneously lush and soothing... This was my first experience with She Spread Sorrow and I definitely recommend Huntress to any reader who appreciates the musical styles I have explained" (The Sleeping Shaman)

"Alice Kundalinis Stimme und eindringliche Intonation tragen maßgeblich zum Gänsehauteffekt bei und sing auf die starken Klangräume abgestimmt. Besonders in "Inside" entaltet das Zusammentreffen von Wandel im Arrangement und Kulmination der Geschichte packende Intensität. Die Kompositionen sind dicht, ohne überladen zu sein und wissen reduzierteren Strukturen ihre volle Wirkmacht zu entlocken "Parasomnias" breitet als krönender Abschluss noch ein zehnminütiges ounderlebnis aus. Hypnotisch, elektronisch, düster und etwas edrohlich im besten Sinne des Wortes liegt mit "Huntress" ein weiteres packendes Werk von She Spread Sorrow vor!" (Orkus)

"... 'Huntress' is a dive into a darker world. Alice Kundalini crafts desolate soundscapes through synths, pedals and her vocals... hushed but full of malice and longing. This juxtaposed with the slightly poppy music makes for a truly chilling experience.... The dark and dank music immediately tells you what Kundalini's mood is... This album is not the kind of thing play later at night when everyone is asleep. It isn't the album to play looking out of darkened windows onto a shaded garden. It is not the kind of album to play just before you go to bed. But you will. In these settings, your senses are heightened. The music takes on a slightly more menacing tone, and your enjoyment is increased" (Vital Weekly)

"She Spread Sorrow plays a musical style that takes dark ambient, death industrial, power electronics and noise and mixes them together to create a sound of her own. The production sounds very dark while the lyrics are a concept album based upon a huntress and a morbid and psychotic relationship with her prey. In my opinion She Spread Sorrow is a very great sounding mixture of dark ambient, death industrial, power electronics and noise and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this solo project" (8/10, DarkUndergroundMusicZine)

"La voce di Alice, che è una delle più intense e spaventose che abbia mai sentito, una lama tra il collo e le orecchie... Quando d’un tratto la voce sembra entrare pulita e comprensibile vengono i brividi. Inside, mantici iniziali ed una nenia che sembra essere malefica da tanto è suadente, sembra che il contatto sia avvenuto e che le mani della predatrice stiano stringendo e disfacendo la preda, mentre il sangue non scorre e lo scollamento fra sensazioni e risultato è tangibile. Parasomnia ci prende per mano e ci costringe ad un finale al quale non vogliamo assistere. Non siamo più in gradi di distinguere fra reale ed immaginario, fra sogno e realtà, tanto l’atmosfera è stata cucita ed imbottita..." (Sodapop)

"Marked by the sullen, low, sweeping drones of death industrial, Huntress lures its prey into it's gaping maw instead of full-on pursuit. This fits the subject matter quite well - not an overt attack, but rather watching from afar, waiting, and biding its time... With some very great mood pieces (reminiscent of late 70's John Carpenter), Huntress captures the stalking, skulking vibe quite well... Built upon nightmares and dreams, She Spread Sorrow's Huntress is a grim number that stands up well to repeated spins... a well done slab of dark industrial" (Musique Machine).

"Les pistes de l’album voient une bonne dose de démence et de violence se confronter, non sans que quelques sentiments amoureux ne viennent interférer avec cette entreprise de destruction mentale. Un tout difficile à décrire, que les amateurs de « death industriel » savoureront du début à la fin. Pour ceux qui découvrent le genre… qu’ils se préparent. La souffrance est ici une loi, et tout, du thème aux paroles et surtout à la musique, concourt à en abreuver l’auditeur. La noirceur est de mise et on ne saurait que conseiller aux simples curieux de passer leur chemin, sous peine de se voir ensevelis sous les décibels et les années de thérapie... Que vous soyez proie ou chasseur, le frisson reste le même ici ; celui de la transgression, de l’amour interdit, et l’adrénaline qui en découle reste aussi palpable et enivrante quel que soit votre position! (Adopte Un Disque)

"The album Huntress once again brings a very ominous and haunting, even morbid form of (Power) Electronics / (Death) Industrial / (Dark) Ambient... It is created around different levels of synth manipulation in combination with very characteristic gloomy, mesmerizing vocals... it’s just remarkable how professional it seems, the basement build around electronic sounds and droning noises perfectly mixed with that semi-seductive, yet somehow portentous voice... a coherent interplay of atmospheric structures, eldritch loops, industrialized drones, abyssal ambience, repetitious rhythmic sequences, and pungently cutting sound fragments. All this gets subtly yet continuously repleted with well-used elements from Ritual Noise and Power Electronics (so ingeniously penetrating the narrative with passion and modesty)" (Concrete Web)

"Ein interessanter Vertreter seiner Zunft ist vorliegendes italienisches Projekt, wofür sich eine gewisse Alice Kundalini auszeichnet und die damit ihrer Vorliebe zur elektronischen Musik nachgeht... in düsteren und hypnotischen Kompositionen offenbart. Das Fundament lässt ich in dieser Sache zwischen Dark Ambient und Death Industrial einordnen, und nachdem man gespeist von Alpträumen und inneren Gedanken war.. Besonders ansprechend ist hierbei die Art der Umsetzung geworden, was die Artikulation anbelangt... die Musikerin versteht es auf dem Album auf gekonnte Art und Weise ihre Visionen in ansprechende Kulissen zu packen, ohne dabei auf diverse extreme Eingebungen zurückgreifen zu müssen. Vielmehr erschafft man eine fast schon geisterhafte Atmosphäre, die sich langsam, aber beständig einschleicht, um den Hörer damit letztendlich zu umgarnen" (Raben Report)

"Lasciate alle spalle le intemperanze power-electro, l'artista nostrana affina ulteriormente la propria formula con una sintesi sempre più efficace e magnetica, arrivando persino a lambire in maniera personalissima la forma-canzone con le atmosfere noir e vintage, sensualmente glaciale nella sua vocalità... si svolge lenta come un gioco psicologico perverso, evocando inevitabilmente le immagini di una pellicola come "The Neon Demon"... un'opera particolarmente efficace nel catturare l'immaginario ricercato e nel suscitare determinate sensazioni tutt'altro che "confortevoli". La totalizzante visione d'insieme di Alice risulta determinante nella concretizzazione del suo operato artistico, elevandone efficacia e qualità (complice la consueta resa audio di altissimo livello ed il supporto tecnico dell'esperto Luca Sigurtà) ben al di sopra della media e proiettando SSS nel gotha del panorama industriale europeo" (Darkroom Magazine)

"Se siente la evolución sonora experimentada por esta grandiosa artista italiana dentro del death-industrial, uniendo a sus pinceladas musicales power electronics y dark-ambient que caracterizaron a su inconfundible estilo de composición, marcado por colosales tensiones sonoras de trasfondo psíquico... “Huntress” no es emocionalmente expansivo, sino introspectivo, quedando prácticamente ausente lo solar como luz espiritual ante la hegemonía de lo lunar y mental en la esencia interior de su protagonista Blue que, en muchos aspectos me recuerda a la mítica Diana cazadora, sobre todo en cuanto a sentimientos de soledad y de sufrimiento interior... Con esta nueva obra maestra, la escena musical death-industrial de vanguardia ha de mostrar su admiración y más humilde reverencia a She Spread Sorrow. ¡¡¡Disfrútenlo!!!" (Lux Atenea)

"Huntress risalta l'intenzione di perseguire un filo narrativo, esposto in forma di sussurro, mai la voce è privilegiata nel missaggio, con ulteriori elementi di continuità nell'immancabile dimensione drammatica dell'insieme construito su synth ed effetti... con scanditi battiti, in un'atmosfera dense a malsana, inizio di un percorso intessuto di slanci insani e violenti e dai tratti morbosi, nel cui tratteggio Alice è decisamente persuasiva... dark ambient riaffiora memoria di Lydia Lunch... muro drone rimane inscalfibile nonostante svirgolate e strali power electronics, genre... la voce scend di grado, sino al bisbiglio, con finale dal climax orroriico con cascate noise accessorie, Parasomnias è cupamente industrial con parti vocali compresse, rimbombante d'incubo e scabrosamente spettrale" (Blow Up)

"She Spread Sorrow’s releases have always been loud, aggressive power electronics. This new release opts for a more subdued mood, but one that is no less sinister. Tracks like ‘Dragonflies’ and ‘Parasomniass’ are the perfect soundtrack when walking down an empty street at night, thinking someone is behind you" (The Pensive Quill)

"Huntress est un disque de la susurration... L’exposé musical reste dans un feutre anxiogène : les trois ans d’efforts préalables ont mené à un résultat en retenue – sur la forme, du moins, car sur le fond, Kundalini étale une huile digitale noire, un sentiment dérangé. Le feeling, obsessionnel, nourrit des trames sonores aux teintes dangereuses, éventuellement zébrées de vibrations basses/ultra-basses. Pour furtives que soient ces dernières, elles vous travaillent au ventre. Pour de vrai. L'épreuve est physique, intérieure. Kundalini maîtrise son sujet. Noir et hypnotique, ce travail est de forte suggestion, tout de violence contenue. La marque de fabrique d’Alice. Huntress : une œuvre immersive, invitation glacée à vivre l’épreuve secrète du rêve. En l’occurrence, vous le ferez de manière éveillée. Ne fermez pas les yeux trop longtemps, on ne sait jamais" (Obsküre)

"Přichází na Huntress ke slovu spíše odlidštěná elektronika a nekompromisní syntezátory dávající vzpomenout spíše na klasické hymny Hamburger lady či Not your country... dusivých dark ambietních či až hlukově elektronických kompozic... Ať už je to produkcí, silným jednotícím konceptem či větším soustředěním na konkrétně znějící pasáže, deska Huntress mi přijde celkově propracovanější, syrovější a svým způsobem i atmosferičtější, než její vysoko hodnocený předchůdce... Výsledkem je sebevědomá, originální a poutavá nahrávka.. nevšedního spojení dark ambientu, industrialu a power electronics v nejlepší tradici originální italské postindustriální scény... milovníkům klasiků i novátorů italského či šířeji evropského post-industrialu by deska Huntress rozhodně neměla uniknout" (HISvoice)

 "Il mondo di Alice Kundalini è fatto di specchi che deformano il suono... Elettriche che tagliano lo spazio, come una tela che squarciata rivela la voce di Kundalini, sinuosa quando non mostruosa, quanto ultraterrena, ipnosi laminata in superficie, affilata e destabilizzante, come droga che scuote e strizza le viscere. Ogni brano si lega nel silenzio, in sospiri acuminati tra bordoni infiniti, defilati e infilati, affilati e frastagliati e poi nuovamente incollati. Manca il respiro in assenza di asperità, tutto è levigato, un bagno di sangue liquido, e se esplode danneggia oltremodo. Pura ossessione che spazza via, macchina industriale che regala tremori e capogiri. L’aritmico battere di un cuore che pulsa in assenza di corpo" (Impatto Sonoro)