Dead Can Dance Dionysus

The follow-up to the pioneering Australian art pop duo's 2012 comeback LP Anastasis, Dionysus dispenses with the more song-oriented approach of its predecessor in favor of an atmosphere-driven bacchanalian oratorio inspired by the Greek god of wine and ecstasy. Split into two tracks with a sum of seven movements, Dionysus unfurls like a guided ayahuasca trip; a curl of aromatic smoke that develops into a roaring, pre-Byzantine bonfire replete with primeval chants and ancient rites. Opener "Sea Borne" tracks the outsider God's arrival via a slow build of tribal beats and a sinewy, unfolding melody that suggests "Misirlou" by way of "Kashmir" -- the album continues to eschew the European folk proclivities of the duo's early work in favor a more Mediterranean and North African aesthetic. Brendan Perry's considerable arsenal of exotic weaponry is given a wide swath of sonic landscape, with stringed (oud), wind (fujara), and percussion (davul) instruments leading the charge. When paired wit