Since the project’s first release in 2016, a growing list of breathtaking ambient compositions have been put out under the MELVL moniker. Sole member Armand Carnelian Fortin (he/they/fae) is a founding member of the excellent Grimalkin Records, and is set to put out his upcoming release Lachrymal Heartflesh through the label on 20th November, to coincide with the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day which honours transgender people who have lost their lives as a result of transphobic violence. Proceeds from the cassette release will go to the Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia, an all-volunteer and trans-led non-profit organisation of which Fortin is a board member, which aims to end homelessness within the Virginia transgender community.
Today, Astral Noize is excited to bring you a sneak peak at the release with lead-single ‘Cut (Maim)’, the shortest of Lachrymal Heartflesh’s three tracks but a uniquely powerful one. It’s a stunning track that seems to reflect the dichotomy between the bleak and the beautiful in its juxtapositional composition, not so much walking the fine line between them as it does the far edges of both simultaneously by stacking lo-fi noise up against angelic vocals, with these two elements then fighting to take the limelight. In the end, neither comes out victorious, in fact they seem to almost coalesce just as the track gradually fades to silence.
Check out the track in full below, then be sure to head to the Grimalkin Bandcamp page to put in your pre-order.
Lachrymal Heartflesh is out 20th November on Grimalkin Records. Order here.
Words: George Parr
