It is an act of courage to redefine oneself. Especially when the initial recipe and direction has been exciting and challenging. Yet, when a project is as intricate as Kristen Hayter’s Lingua Ignota there should not be any surprise when evolution is afoot. Hayter started in the underground, releasing the first two records of her project independently. Through the raw quality of Let The Evil of His Own Lips Cover Him and All Bitches Die, she presented an intrinsically harsh and personal reality. Bounding together elements of noise and ambient music with neoclassical inclinations and operatic grandeur, the result was astounding.
Still, it was Lingua Ignota’s third record, CALIGULA, that caught everyone by surprise. Immense in scope, adventurous and daring, Hayter took the listener down the darkest abyss. Her ethereal presence contradicting the dark ambient clutches of synthesizers, and the harsh background formed by noise walls. It was a near perfect moment, and definitely a hard album to follow. So, how does one go about doing so? For Hayter the answer was to turn towards a different direction. Today, two years following the release of CALIGULA, Hayter returns with SINNER GET READY, performing a majestic creative turn in the process.
Once where was the industrial backbone and the noise explosions, now stands a desolate, acoustic driven presence. SINNER GET READY sees a traditional injection, in the form of Americana music and Appalachian instrumentation, that shoots through the core of Lingua Ignota. It alters the harsh self of the project, the over the top expression with a grounded, organic solitude. If you think that this alleviates the darkness from Hayter’s work, better think again. This is one of the most punishing and excruciating records you will experience this year. A few piano keystrokes and a solitary banjo placed in the right hands can wreak emotional havoc, and Hayter is a master in this task. This essence is of course coupled with the neoclassical and operatic past of Hayter, resulting in moments of pure processional grandeur, further elevated by a religious upbringing. The ceremonial aspect of “MANY HANDS” sees the scenery change from the industrial stage to the Americana realm, reaching new hymnal levels of glory with “PENNSYLVANIA FURNACE.” It feels like an inverted church hymn, a glooming resonance through a forlorn promise of salvation, echoing through the passages of “THE SACRED LINAMENT OF JUDGEMENT” and “THE SOLITARY BRETHREN OF EPHRATA.”
The point of reference for Lingua Ignota still remains in Hayter’s vocal delivery. And while that shines through the passages of SINNER GET READY, it is also presented through a different lens. There is a more minimal application of effects to Hayter’s voice, less distortion for the harsher moments and not as much heavy layering. In a sense, her performance feels more direct and grounded. Still, capable of bringing you to your knees, as with the beautiful delivery of “PERPETUAL FLAMES OF CENTRALIA,” Hayter delivers a serene and melancholic tour de force. But, this calm presence is only part of the whole. Unyielding and unforgiving, Hayter echoes like a fury through “I WHO BEND THE TALL GRASSES.” Starting off through a subtle form, accompanying this requiem-esque background, the delivery becomes more and more extreme. The voice gets raspy, screaming almost mourning in its wailing manifestation as it reaches towards a pure demoniacal performance. This dichotomy between the ethereal and the damned is illustrated through a more humane view from Hayter, than at any point in the past.
The nature of Lingua Ignota has always been to be provoking and daring. With SINNER GET READY Hayter still retains these aspects. Hell, she even enhances their presence. The tools might have changed, but the result remains as poignant and terrifying as ever. It is amazing how many things one can achieve with a few powerful piano keystrokes, reverberating through the vast space in “THE ORDER OF SPIRITUAL VIRGINS.” A timbral storm causing havoc, tearing a caustic void into the ethereal form. Even the banjo strums sound otherworldly and punishing, subtle in their approach but still hammerous in “REPENT NOW CONFESS NOW.” Hayter has introduced a mirror image, a further reflection of Lingua Ignota. And in the process she has again outdone herself, producing her best work to date.
