Immediately strikingly to the heart with the opening notes of “Cast Out” as if awakening people from sleep with this as an early morning clarion call, Fragment. effectively kicks off Temporary Enlightenment (the fourth proper full length album from this one man project) and launches what is arguably the best batch of music from this project; the overall sound on this album seems much fuller and dense than previous efforts with some moments where the music is booming out of the speakers (there are certain bass drum hits in “Cast Out” is devastating with a sub woofer), but let me leave that aside for a minute or two.
I would be lying if I did not state that Fragment. travels a path similar to that of Jesu and in many respects at least owes a great deal to Justin Broadrick’s project, but it would be unfair to call Fragment. purely a clone because the two projects’ respective musical trajectories are much different; herein lies the endearing qualities of what makes Thierry Arnal’s work stand on its own as he pursuit is much more singular in sound, and Temporary Enlightenment is further evidence of his relentless quest for what he views as the perfect combination of crashes, bangs, melodies, etc for the ultimate Fragment. statement.
When I pop Temporary Enlightenment on my stereo, I find that my maximum enjoyment comes from simply letting the go of all the noise and letting the lush sounds just envelope my ears and provide that warm comforting place that is difficult to describe; whether it is the calm sounds of “Just For Today” and “From This Moment” or the big and sometimes ominous sounds of “Hide” and “Shield” (and even these descriptions are only the slightest bit of difference but you know it when you hear it), Fragment. somehow knows how to make the slightest variations affect the music in some big ways.
I cannot help but enjoy Temporary Enlightenment as there is just so much here that my ears love hearing, and if I just forget the nonsense unrelated to music (and yes, I understand that some people balk at what that “stuff” portends), this album just makes its way onto my stereo fairly often; Fragment. gives us another good album to zone out and enjoy.
