For an experimental folk band, Angels of Light manage to unleash a respectable amount of aggression on We Are Him.  In fact, at times the results come close to the overwhelming intensity of band leader Michael Gira’s days in Swans.  Though it does feature some quite lovely quiet and somber moments, the opening minutes of “Sometimes I Dream I’m Hurting You” spring immediately to mind, We Are Him operates like a centrifuge of sound looking for a lyrical moment of release.  Typical folk instrumentation—various combinations of guitar, strings, horns, dulcimers, keys, and percussion—find new life as hypnotic loops of sound that build up to a crescendo of sonic tension.  Catharsis comes by way of Gira vocals; sometimes a vindictive preacher, sometimes a wise storyteller who knows better, his words are filled with grit, and blood, and (sometimes) truth.  We Are Him isn’t always an easy listen, but after the madness crests the rest is pure, melancholy sweetness.

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