Death Speaks
by David Lang

Exquisite neoclassical arrangements tinged with indie stylings courtesy of Bryce Dessner and Owen Pallet, David Lang, with "Death Speaks", releases a masterwork (easily surpassing that of even the acclaimed "The Little Match Girl Passion"), that effects emotion from the listener not from direct manipulation (though some of the lyrics do have that effect), but rather from creating an aura of sparse arrangements and sustained harmonies that surround the listener, plucking tenderly at hints of feeling that evolve into something immensely powerful, even in the context of a work that could be described as thematically emotionally detached; to elaborate, Death Speaks, lyrically (and really musically as well), is exactly what it sounds like: all of the lyrics are spoken by Death, addressing the living. Death is not depicted as a malevolent force; there is far more ambiguity to this character. At times Death speaks as a mere force, an inevitability; a concept haunting but that does not paint Death as a force of darkness. The most powerful moments of Death speaks come when the arguably affectless death hints at tenderness, or even sympathy towards the living, eventually becoming a depiction of consolation towards these humans who, really at any point in their existence, are withing Death's immediate proximity. By the end, Death comes across as something almost akin to a friend; (“I am your pale companion / I mirror your pain / I was your shadow all those long nights, all those days long past.”) Death Speaks becomes its most emotionally evocative on the final track; the fully instrumental "Depart", in which Death is no longer speaking. Harmonies slowly build, occasionally drift into a mild dissonance, form tension through the sustaining of harmonies, and release, building into an aura that seeps into the deepest part of the human consciousness. "Depart" signifies not just the end of the album, but, quite simply, the end. Death has stopped speaking. You are now walking beside Death, in silent understanding.