Nadja: Guilted By The Sun
Elevation

Brace yourself for the molten sludge that pours forth throughout Nadja's 28-minute EP Guilted By The Sun. The Canadian group started out in 2003 as a solo project for Aidan Baker, who wanted to explore a heavier side of his experimental/ambient guitar-based music-making, but became a duo when Leah Buckareff signed on two years later. The two make no apologies for their curdling, doom-laden approach and detonate four pummeling tracks on Elevation's maiden release. The EP's material uninterruptedly segues between volcanic dirges, grinding instrumental blur, and death-metal riffage in a style that's not wholly lacking in melodicism, even if one sometimes must peel back the music's festering outer layers in order to locate it (the monstrous roar that bleeds through the center of track four is particularly awesome). Need a soundtrack for your next snuff film? Nadja would appear to be the perfect candidate.

September 2007