AMG Review of After the Night Falls

Andy Kellman
All Music Guide

Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd go back to 1986, specifically The Moon and the Melodies, a collaboration between the Cocteau Twins and the pianist. Guthrie aided Budd on 1988's The White Arcades, and the pair resumed their relationship roughly 16 years later to record the score to Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin. During the spring of 2006, they recorded together again for five days, resulting in the synchronously released After the Night Falls and Before the Day Breaks. Anyone familiar with anything either musician has done together -- or, to a somewhat lesser extent, apart from one another -- won't be surprised by their output here. They shouldn't be left unsatisfied, either, as the instrumental pieces are as gorgeous (yet subdued) and expansive (yet intimate) as imaginable. Though this material could just as easily function as a score, it differs from Mysterious Skin in that it is a little more tangible, like there might've been more effort put into fully engaging the listener. As expected, percussion is almost entirely absent, with the exception of an elusive pulse and some very distant snare rolls.