Evil Does Not Exist

Album review

Over the years, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer Eiko Ishibashi has created nuanced art pop, released eerie ambient work, and recorded with Japanese noise master Merzbow. She's also a film composer who has received accolades for her work on Drive My Car and Evil Does Not Exist, two features by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

The score for the latter film is strikingly well-integrated into the fabric of the award-winning eco-drama; the music has been described as another character in the movie.  But this album stands on its own. (Jim O'Rourke mixed and mastered the tracks and played guitar.)

On the brief "Fether," radiant tones, rattling, and the occasional string-strum surround echoing keyboard to create a mysterious, at times troubled, ambience. "Smoke" brings together jazzy drums, drones, and singeing guitar to craft a piece that builds nicely. The 12-minute "Missing V.2" incorporates human speech, drums, feedback-like pings, and acoustic piano into an ever-changing audio scenario; it's lovely when strings emerge to thicken and ground the atmospherics.

Evil Does Not Exist begins and ends with variations of the title track. On the "V.2" opener, rippling cymbals and guitar playing evocative of Bill Frisell segue into the main body of the piece, which features highly effective string writing.

The album-closing version skips the introduction, immediately immersing the listener in the lush string sounds. Sustained notes gracefully rub against each other, conveying a sense of loss. At one point, a repeating violin figure pokes out from the ensemble, enlivening the composition. The way thematic material is distributed and layered throughout is particularly effective. (The early work of British composer Gavin Bryars comes to mind.) With its sense of stateliness tinged by melancholy, the piece is the heart of a standout release. © Fred Cisterna/Qobuz