Band:	Harvestman
Album:	Triptych: Part Two
Style:	Psychedelic rock, Space ambient
Release date:	July 2024
A review by:	F3ynman

01. The Hag Of Beara Vs. The Poet
02. The Falconer
03. Damascus
04. The Hag Of Beara Vs. The Poet (Forest Dub)
05. Vapour Phase
06. Galvanized And Torn Open
07. The Unjust Incarceration

The megaliths have more to say, but is it anything we haven't heard before?

On April 23rd’s Pink Moon, Steve Von Till of Neurosis released the album Triptych: Part One as part of his ambient side project Harvestman. On July 21st’s Buck Moon, the sequel was released, with the goal of further exploring mankind's connection with nature through megalithic structures and hypnotic soundscapes.

As with Part One, Triptych: Part Two starts off with a track that features Om bassist Al Cisneros. Together with narration from an elderly man (that I unfortunately can't understand at all), the catchy synth melodies and drum beats on “The Hag Of Beara Vs. The Poet” does a great job of introducing the listener to the mesmerizing atmosphere that permeates this 44-minute-long album. Later on the album, as with Part One, a dub of the opening track is presented, where the mix is even more cacophonous. It emphasizes the deafening percussion and that reverberating, indecipherable narration, while maintaining the anchoring effect of Al Cisneros’ calm bass playing. There are also tracks on Triptych: Part Two that do completely without percussion, purely relying on droning ambience such as on “The Falconer”, where the feelings invoked by the synth-work evolve from dreamy tranquillity to unsettling foreboding.

My favorite track on Triptych: Part Two is probably “Damascus”. It showcases thundering percussion and eerie, oriental-sounding brass instruments (or perhaps synth-work emulating brass instruments), creating an exotic, otherworldly feeling to accompany the ominous yet groovy vibe. Another noteworthy track is the penultimate “Galvanized And Torn Open”, which acts as a great soundtrack for those listeners who just want to submerge themselves in a bath of languid soundwaves.

Overall, this sequel album does not really add much new in comparison to Part One. For instance, the rumbling distortion on Part Two’s “Vapour” is directly copied from Part One’s “How To Purify Mercury”, and both albums finish with similar tracks featuring bagpipe playing. Triptych: Part Two retains the quality ambience that Steve Von Till has mastered, yet it's slightly disappointing that no new frontiers have been explored here. While the audio sample of Robinson Jeffers’ poetry on Part One’s “Give Your Heart To The Hawk” offered an effective element to convey the themes of nature, mortality, and ancient stone-work, Part Two provides no noticeable connection to these topics other than the similar glyph-like cover art. Thus, while you can equally well sit and meditate on the ambience of Triptych: Part Two, the more rewarding and unique experience for me remains Triptych: Part One.