Sense From Nonsense

The eleven minutes and six seconds of this single track sound as if Tom Nelsen watched The Last Temptation of Christ and Kingdom of Heaven simultaneously and then did storyboards for a graphic-novel version of Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. It is ambient in the same sense that the most abstract...

By Tom Murphy

January 24, 2012

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The eleven minutes and six seconds of this single track sound as if Tom Nelsen watched The Last Temptation of Christ and Kingdom of Heaven simultaneously and then did storyboards for a graphic-novel version of Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. It is ambient in the same sense that the most abstract sacred music can be if heard from a distance. Hypnotic and haunting, the music is like the soundtrack to life in a cloister after fears of the horned one have been set to rest and contemplation of the transmigration of the soul can begin: Think Dead Can Dance circa The Serpent's Egg, only murkier and eerier. The minimal beat heard throughout could be the ticking of the clock of eternity, counting down the days until the Hidden Imam awakes.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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Twitter: @simianthinker