Album Review: Koniec Pola – Cy (Devoted Art Propaganda)

Established in 2016, Koniec Pola (translates to ‘The End of the Field’ from Polish) take a different approach to post-rock, black metal and experimental music making it a project difficult to classify as one genre.

Their debut album, entitled Cy, is a story about a specific place – imaginarium. It is an area of the Polish village Zalesie, lying near the Kozienice Forest, where the local folk are mixed with postmodernity.

Cy will be released March 28th 2018 via Devoted Art Propaganda.

Cy is different, very different. It’s about atmosphere, about making you feel uncomfortable. That’s certainly what you get with the opening few minutes of I. Odd sound effects, the rumblings of something dark coming…it’s horror movie like especially when the softly spoken words start.

When the guitar melody begins it’s almost a relief. At least it would be if Koniec Pola had any plans to allow you to relax. Instead what follows is a disjointed mess of noise. Difficult to enjoy because it’s so unstructured. It’s experimental as hell but hard to enjoy. At least until the final few minutes where the post-rock vibe takes over bringing welcome & memorable rhythm.

With a bit more sense & some really unique instrumentation, II is a vast improvement. After a darkened couple of minutes it takes on an unexpected folksy beat upping the tempo briefly, adding to the unique flavour the album has as whole.

As Cy goes on, Koniec Pola increase the harshness & the mood darkens. III is a fuzzy, mean-sounding number and while IV starts with a bit more folksy bounce it descends slowly but surely. Low strumming, slow-pace, dripping in atmosphere…

Cy will capture the imagination, that’s one thing you can be assured of. That being said it’s a really difficult listen. Experimenting to such a degree that there is not much else left. A difficult album not just to review but to listen too. It’s a very intriguing effort but one that needs multiple listens to fully wrap your head around.

Koniec Pola – Cy Full Track Listing:

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV

You can pick up Koniec Pola’s earlier releases on Bandcamp. Check out the album trailer below.