Fabels grand and beautiful Ophera
- Mike Gee
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
By MIKE GEE
Ben Aylward has never made a fuss. He’s that kind of guy. That kind of musician. In the 1990s he co-helmed the brilliant trio, Swirl, delivering - out of nowhere it almost seemed - one of the 10 greatest Australian albums, The Last Unicorn, of all-time. Part-pop, part-rock, part-shoegaze, part-soundscape, it is a one of a kind in the Australian music lexicon.
Swirl didn’t know what they created then but the pure freedom of being under no musical constraints in their early 20s and on a label with a track record for taking chances, Nic Dalton’s Half A Cow, meant that what they captured left music industry gurus young and old speechless and fans stunned. I was one of them. Today, 32 years later, The Last Unicorn remains a magnificent achievement, a timeless work of art. Unfortunately, Ben (guitar, vocals) and his fellow creators, Nicola Shultz (bass and vocals) and David Lord (drums) have long gone their separate ways, Swirl with them. Nicola left in 1997 and Ben and David followed when version two of the band parted ways in 2002.
Aylward went quiet for a while after a flirtation with the Sydney indie pop band, Beautiful World, finally resurfacing in 2010 with Dutch-born Hiske Weijers, a wonderfully inventive ethereal vocalist who also plays keys and loops. Fabels is Ben and Hiske’s sonic dream band. With Hiske he’s spent more than 15 years exploring soundscapes that live in beds of invention that cross the musical spectrum. Fabels can be genteel, beautiful, brutal. Their new album, Ophera, is all of that and more.
Ophera devolves to minimalism over the first four pieces - the title track, Luister, Fragments, Ancient - each more minimal and fragile than the previous air. The opener is a pastoral atmosphere riding a steady beat as the duo weave a magical backdrop and Hiske sings effortlessly over the top. Utterly bewitching. Magnificent. The next three pieces each create their own space, quieter and more vast. Music to immerse yourself in. Give it the time to weave its strange beauty.
Nova shimmers, the first of three tracks that define the core of Ophera. It walks gracefully, on a gentle rhythm to Reifen, the album's most devolved sonic moment. Over seven minutes chaos creeps in until dissonance takes over. A nightmare in Fabels garden of delights. Akron follows, a militaristic, marching, post-rock anthem. Play it loud. Several times. You will be hooked.
Pieces is a spacial step back, a moment of reflectivity that guides Ophera to its final moment, the exquisite Alamay. Set against Ben’s chugging guitar it’s a simple, rhythmic, thoughtful, farewell.
Touch points for those who need to align this album with the work of others: Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, touches of Dead Can Dance, the darker, more symphonic moments, of Swirl, Krautrock - think Neu, Sand, even Popol Vuh, Slowdive, and Dutch experimental outfits such as The Ex and Legendary Pink Dots.
Fabels music has been called dream pop but that really doesn’t do it justice. Their dreamscapes on Ophera combine into an ethereal, otherworldly opera, that could be performed with a symphony orchestra. Alternatively, you could develop a modern ballet around it. Yes, it’s that good.
Listen to Aylward’s other band, Syntax Error, a luscious mix of
psychedelic post- and indie rock, experimental noise and atmospheres, and you have his canon, the spaces he inhabits, the broad palette from which he creates. In Hiske Weijers he has a musical partner who not only flows effortlessly alongside but also brings a formidable ability to paint the music in her own colours. Together they create fables.
Ophera is a triumph, a breathtaking statement of imagination that never veers into cliche or repetition. It requires, like all good music, repeated listens. The band say, “This album is designed for the listener to take some time with it, it's not fast, let it overtake you slowly!”. It’s good advice.
Hiske and Ben’s Ophera is of the real world, of now and the darkness that’s swirls disturbed and ugly around the globe, and it is redolent of, as its makers say, “an old ancient world long gone”, perhaps, where faerie and ghosts beckon you in, or where space really is the final frontier. Enjoy the trip.
Outstanding, world-class Australian music from two of its finest creators. 9/10.
Download or buy a CD copy of Ophera here: https://fabels.bandcamp.com/album/ophera
GIG GUIDE: FABELS LAUNCH OPHERA
SATURDAY, MARCH 14: 2PM AFTERNOON SHOW, THE CAVE INN, BRISBANE
FRIDAY, APRIL 3: MAUROCCO BAR, CASTLEMAINE
SATURDAY, APRIL 4: NIGHTHAWKS, MELBOURNE
FRIDAY, APRIL 17: VANGUARD, NEWTOWN, SYDNEY
SATURDAY, MAY 2: THE EXETER, RUNDLE ST, ADELAIDE
FRIDAY, JUNE 5: THE LASS, NEWCASTLE
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