Oikos don’t so much obliterate the traditions of dark-drone as unsettle them. A workmanlike effort, Solve Et Coagvla drifts into a strangely peaceful strum sequence halfway through Side A and you think they’re ready to fold like a pair of 2s. “Coagvla” is a mean one though, leading a grim march into the black cauldron of ambient-guitar death. It’s pretty though, too. The strung-out guitar flutters and other tones ring of urgent beauty, like the monstrously picturesque fires of war. The war rhythms drum up feelings of fury, while the overall effect of the drones creates a wash, albeit one with dominant themes poking through the fray that surge to the front as the track descends. “Altered” is more of a straight-drone approach until a few rowdy, pulsating sound bits gang up on the rest and threaten to swallow the cut whole. Then it’s all sanded down again, etc. You know the drill if you’ve been paying attention to the tape game for even a few months, yet Solve Et Coagvla is a manageable excursion that never feels unconsidered.
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