Canaan is an Italian band that has a surprisingly delicious sound that is reminiscient of quite a few bands on the American goth/darkwave record label Projekt. Basing their sound on a variety of ambient, gothic and dark music, Canaan's Brand New Babylon is a fine example of how this music can be when done right.

The album is a far-reaching and widespread affair that covers many stylistic bases throughout, from the soundscape ambient passages of "Disintegrate" and "Shelter 1" to ringing, exotic guitar and voice songs like "Of Lost Desires" or "La Simmetria del Delore" (sung in their native tongue). The band utilizes a wide array of instruments from keyboard and synth washes to sitars to the occasional heavy guitar to create a vast paradigm of moods and atmospheres. Their more exotic adventures remind one of Dead Can Dance (on "For a Drowning Soul") or of Controlled Bleeding's operatic period ("The Circle of Waters", a fantastic and moody instrumental that shows off their very solid compositional and playing skills on guitar). At other times, fans of the Projekt Record label might hear sounds not too different from Judgement of Paris or Lycia's stark style. Even though there are occasional bouts of minimalism, Canaan is able to apty convey a sparse arrangement into a grand and lush sound, such as the haunting "The Meaning of Solitude".

Brand New Babylon is a dream record for those who want to hear a good darkwave record that is not caught up in either forced morosity or cliche sounds. As stated before, fans of the Projekt Records label are hereby required to run out to find this disc and anyone who hankers to hear a dreamy and moving album should find themselves a brand new copy.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 08/2000

Back to top