| THIS IS ALT CLASSICAL. Ascendant is a collaboration of pianist, composer, arranger and occasional singer Mark Northfield with eight other singers from a variety of musical backgrounds. The arrangements are dark and lush, referencing the bleak atmospherics of 4AD acts such as This Mortal Coil and Dead Can Dance, as well as the romantic stylings of Kate Bush, Rufus Wainwright and The Divine Comedy. Ghostly fragments of themes contained on the album link the songs together into a near continuous whole. The complex lyrics reflect the subdued nature of the music and deal with themes of memory, time, loss and mystery. Even in the surreal satire of Sleeping Beauty and the numb, rock lurch of Decidedly Dumb there is a poised thoughtfulness at work. The closing trio of major key songs gradually lift the listener away from the tension, finishing with the serene (if resigned) duet of Luco which reintroduces the theme that began the album. Substantive recordings was set up by Mark Northfield in 2008 and Ascendant is the first release for the label. The album cover art is taken from a painting entitled 'Lightly Attached' by Tamara Dubnyckyj. Reproduced with permission. TRACKLISTING waiting for green/resistance/the calm/sleeping beauty/decidedly dumb/weight/zero/our father/luco RUNNING TIME 52:36 | 
