THE LAST HOUR THE LAST HOUR ALBUM INTUITION RELEASE: DECEMBER, 2008 REVIEW: MARCH 4, 2009

Ever wondered what would go through the mind of one drowning: their slow descent into inky unperceived realms, their lungs bursting filled by fluid? This album right here is the answer to that question and I hope Roberto del Vecchio appreciates the comparison. The Last Hour make their debut with this work and if it's anything to judge their future on, I will say this much: it shines darkly.

If you are made curious by the noises you hear at night which others shy away from, if you find yourself walking between consciousness and the dream, The Last Hour are an answer to your baleful malignant prayers. This one man has put much unsound work into such a short album, it's going to be one you will play often. You will play loudly. You will play alone.

Arrangements fly with a panache I would not expect from such a fledgling act but then again, this is no ordinary outing. Chamber music is surely part of the brew but it's the chamber music of the wicked, the depraved, the wantonly lustful. Bypassing the candy and the effervescence, del Vecchio throws us in the proverbial witch's oven but it is all done with so much feeling, so much integrity and sheer suadade that you can't do anything but capitulate.

This has a tone to it I don't hear often: one of half-smiling acceptance. It is the resigned shrug surely we will all give when that last hour comes. I do hope this has proven enticing enough.

PETER MARKS