Kimio Mizutani - 1970 - A Path Through Haze

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

I'm a little hesitant when I come across the term 'prog rock.' When musicians can work it towards a spacey groove rather than multi-suite wankery, though, that form of music does get my attention. With that in mind, we'll peg this one as a 'prog rock' classic. Kimio Mizutani was a psych rockin' session guitarist who created this album for his solo debut. He's got pretty awesome chops, and collaborated with some classical chamber groups on this album. Typically, the classical prog turns me away as well, but the band is smart enough to respond to the more orchestrated moments with a jazz vibe. Even Frank Zappa, who often recorded this way as well, tended to miss the point when he'd have his guitarists play rapid-fire walls of intricate guitar when a melodic solo would have done nicely. Mizutani doesn't make this mistake.

This set starts with several awesome tunes. The opening title track does indeed provide some nice jazzy haze, cut straight through with a monster riff from Mizutani's guitar supported by some groovy, Ginger Baker-like drums and streams of strange electronic noise. Once "Sail in the Sky" gets going, we're treated to a fusion vibe which features a very complementary woodwind arrangement. "Turning Point" sounds surprisingly like the post-rock band Tortoise, who wouldn't start recording until about 25 years after this album was released. "One for Janis" might not be the best tune for Janis, but it does give us another riff monster which is pretty fun. On the lesser side "Tell Me What You Saw" veers into hamfisted atonality which actually sounds pretty much the same as Phish jamming (although I'm sure that's a positive point for some of you), and "Way Out" doesn't tend to fit in very well as the only track with vocals. It comes out sounding like early-Return to Forever's vocalist stumbling into a funeral as the music is rather dirge-like.

Yeah, so this is prog-rock that I can be down with. The jazz vibe seems beamed in from the Canterbury scene, while the construction recalls Zappa, although without the 'too many notes' problem. Also, Mizutani is more than sharp enough to have a few of his own tricks up his sleeve and his guitar playing is psychedelically impeccable.

Kalyani Roy and Ali Ahmed Hussein - 1968 - Soul of India

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

I'm going to go ahead and guess that this release was intended to latch onto the coattails of Ravi Shankar's appearance at the Monterrey Pop Festival (in fact, Ravi's 1968 release was 'Spirit of India') along with a general interest in Eastern mysticism. Fortunately, this is no exploitation release, but legitimate Indian musicians doing their thing. Kalyani Roy was one of the few female sitarists at that time, while Ali Ahmed Hussain is wailing away on a shehnai, which is a wind instrument that sounds somewhere in between a violin and a horn. You'll get the needed dose of tabla pounding as well. Expect a completely traditional affair, with no postmodern touches or anything.

There's only three tracks here, so you're either 'in for another long raga' as Krusty the Clown would say, or you're not. If you're down for this kind of thing, this album is an affair with lots of color added to the general raga vibe courtesy of the shehnai. I enjoy the whole thing, but honestly, I don't know enough about classical Indian to really distinguish much between the tracks. They all seem to more or less go down the same sonic path - but the trail is clearly being led by master musicians.

I've played this collection often, and I've sort of considered it one of my 'mind bubblebaths.' I don't tend to fixate or concentrate on the actual music much, but it creates a cloud of sound that I find very appealing. I'm sure there are some major musical point or accomplishments that I'm totally missing here, but something about the spirit of the recordings has definitely burrowed in my brain.

Tim Hollier - 1970 - Tim Hollier

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.75 of 5

Tim Hollier clearly dug Tim Buckley's early records. This disc is sort of a slightly psyched-up 'Tim Buckley-lite" affair that manages to hold one's attention pretty well. Hollier's voice is very pleasant and tuneful, although he can't really touch the wild dynamic range of Buckley's voice. The production is is a little muddy sounding, but in a fuzzy way that complements the music pretty well. Although folk-rock is clearly the order of the day, the band does work up a groovy head of steam to give the songs a nice sonic push when needed.

Most of the tunes here are pretty solid, though only a few really stand out. Despite some really clunky, cliched lyrics, "Seagull Song" worms its way into your head with a fine folk melody and some groovy guitar and flute leads bouncing about in the background. "And It's Happening to Her" and "Love Song" are very catchy ballads, with some guitar leads that seem to echo the late night soul vibe of the guitars on the Velvet Underground's third album. "Evolution" is the longest tune here, and finds a pretty fine sweet spot between Buckley, the Byrds, and a touch of Dylan. "Evening Song" is a fine tripped out coda with Hollier's ghostly vocals searching through a forest of tremelo guitar.

I keep referencing American artists, but Hollier is a Brit and the echoes of that islands folk traditions are on display here. Still, it's clear that Hollier likely had a large pile of L.A. folk-rock vinyl taking up space in his 'flat.' This set isn't really a mindblower. It's probably not going to change your life, but it's a very groovy concoction while it's playing - although I do occasionally wonder why I'm not just listening to Tim Buckley's "Goodbye and Hello" instead.

Rex Holman - 1970 - Here in the Land of Victory

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.5 out of 5

This album is a reasonably entertaining set of sort of mellow, singer-songwriter light psych. The production has a nice think woodsy sound, and the songwriting is rarely embarrassing. Holman has a pretty strong 'dude-with-a-mustache' voice, although his vibrato often gets a little out of control - it's like he's singing in a fan or something. Still, this music sits in a strange grey area between Kris Kristofferson and Donovan that should hold your attention for a bit.

The best tracks here blend Holman's 'manly-hippy-on-the-moors' sound with a bit of an Eastern vibe, which basically means a few bongos and a sitar. "Rowin'," "Sit and Flatter Me," and "Debbie" all ride this sort of groove pretty well and are probably the best tracks here. "Debbie" especially has a cool shuffling rhythm and makes me think of Scott Walker before he started using slabs of meat as percussion. I also dig the twilight psych of "Copper Kettle" and "Come On Down." Yeah, for some reason side two seems to be the superior side. Well, the opening title track is pretty solid as well, adorned with chimes, flute, and a catchy Brit folk melody. It's also worth mentioning that Rex doesn't rock. He sort of, kind of gives it a shot on the bluesy "Red is the Apple" and the 'Dylan as bubblegum pop' "I Can't Read My Name," but, y'know, they're both still pretty mellow when you come right down to it.

In full disclosure, this isn't quite up my particular musical alley. I'm definitely cool with the psych and Eastern touches, as well as the general British folk underpinnings, but this really is halfway down the Wonder Bread, 70's singer-songwriter hallway. If you've got a 'thang' for that sort of thing, then you'll probably have some additional appreciation for these recordings.

13th Floor Elevators - 1968 - A Love That's Sound

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

The third 13th Floor Elevators album, "Bull of the Woods," has always been somewhat of a disappointment. The band had pretty well disintegrated from legal troubles, insanity and various other pressures. With vocalist Roky Erikson and lyricist/electric jug player Tommy Hall pretty much out of commission, guitarist Stacy Sutherland did the best he could and he did manage to pull off a pretty good psych rock album. The problem was that it didn't really deliver as an Elevators album. This collection gives us a much groovier view of what a real third Elevators album could have been. Rocky Erikson sings on all of the tracks that feature vocals, even if a few of them are likely just guide vocals, and the band rocks a lot closer to their signature sound. The monoural sound quality is somewhat muddy, but us longtime Elevator fans should be used to that from years of substandard versions of their first two albums. The electric jug only shows up on one track, but let's face it - the jug was always a bit of a novelty and the band does pretty well without it. Also, we get to lose those damn horn overdubs which marred "Bull of the Woods."

The first six tracks here are first rate, if a bit rough, 13th Floor Elevator rockers and stand up pretty well in comparison to the classics on the first two albums. "It's You" is a fine display of the poppier side of the band with a chorus that will end up stuck in your head forever, while "Livin' On" and "Never Another" serve up a tighter version of the psychedelic guru vibe that the group pursued on "Easter Everywhere." Erickson's version of "May the Circle Be Unbroken" is one of the group's absolute masterpieces, although it does admittedly come across a little better in its stereo version on "Bull of the Woods." Since the first six tracks only clock in at about 22 minutes, the disc is filled out with some instrumental takes called "Sweet Surprise" and "Moon Song." They're relatively dispensable, with the former coming across like a blues based jam and the latter sounding like a rocked up version of "Postures (Leave Your Body Behind)." Still, they're a nice momento of the prime Elevators sound just before it was lost forever.

I typically shy away from recent releases, but I imagine many of you may stay away from this release due the somewhat poor reputation of "Bull of the Woods." Surprisingly, this document of the band is almost as essential as the first two albums. If you have any doubts, note that this is actually the first disc of the set while "Bull of the Woods" is relegated to the second disc. There are some pretty interesting liner notes included as well. Buy it - Roky deserves the royalty checks.

Buy Me:
13th Floor Elevators - 1968 - A Love That's Sound

We're Late For Class - 2011 - Music of the Spheres

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

These psychedelically-minded musical bloggers have been blasting a few tunes our way every now and again for a few years now, but I think this is one of the better efforts I've heard from them. We're Late For Class is a rather free-form grouping that records whatever abstractions fits their mood at the moment, and it seems that they were in a jazzy, space rock mood for this one. The production quality here is also a nice step up, with a hazy, crisp vibe propelling the sounds into interstellar space. I'm also a sucker for the kind of cosmic cover art that this one sports, and the music reflects it pretty well.

We've got two tracks here that almost form a bit of a musical suite. "Blood Queen of Sun Ra" shuffles along the rings of Saturn, and includes some groovy samples from god knows where. "SOL's Time and Space" drifts along a more conventional, but well played Floydian strut. There's some vibraphone, or xylophone, or somethingmaphone that brands the track with a nice, unique musical identity.

When you need a quick fix of modern psychedelic jamming, We're Late For Class serves well as your sonic dealer with almost 60 shorts sets to tickle your ear. Have a gander at their offerings here: We're Late For Class

Listen to Me:
We're Late For Class - 2011 - Music of the Spheres

Sister Waize - 2011 - Realignment Series

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

To many, it may seem that creating a drone is a simple procedure - just sit on one note of your synthesizer for 20 minutes or so and let 'er rip. I've given it a shot on several occasions, though, and getting it right is not so easy. This album, happily, gets it right. Sister Waize's latest release isn't so much music as a set of experiences for you to enter. David Mekler, the fellow behind these, calls his recordings 'folding drone music.' I don't quite get that concept, but put these on in the right frame of mind and the visions will surely come.

I typically like to ramble on a bit about the songs, but the tracks here pretty much defy description. Even Mr. Mekler doesn't suggest playing more than one or two of these at a time. In fact, he's created a set of instructions to go along with these albums. I can't write anything better than the man himself, so here's an extended quote to get you ready for this psychedelic dark ride:

"1. Listen at night, before going to sleep. Make sure you are not too tired though because it will be very easy for you to just fall asleep.

2. Be in total darkness, pitch black.

3. Lay in your bed, on your back and make yourself as comfortable as possible. Lay for a minute or two until you've settled into your bed before you start the track.

4. Make sure there will be no interruptions that will take you away from the track before it ends, the whole thing must be listened to in one sitting without interruption (this is extremely important, think about it as losing your train of thought and then trying to continue).

5. Only use decent headphones/good headphones. Do not use earbuds by any means, you will just be wasting your time. Sennheiser is my personal brand of choice, you can easily get a great pair of headphones from them for less than $50.

6. While listening try your best to keep your eyes closed and body still as much as possible. It's very difficult to avoid fidgeting for 20 minutes or so, but try your best. This is so you can give complete attention to the sound as it moves.

7. Keep your mind on the sound and let your mind ride with it. Letting your mind wander is fine, but don't get hung up on anything specific for too long. Just try and let go.

8. If you can, stare at the back of your eyelids while you listen and focus on the colors. This is where the inner eye hallucinations can usually come from, don't stress it too much though, keep most of your attention on the sound.

9. Most songs that I've made which are applicable to what is being talked about here are shorter than a television show... keep this in mind before listening. Understand how long the track is exactly so that you know ahead of time. I say this so that you won't start to think about when it will be over while the song is in progress. I promise you, it will end eventually. They are as long as I feel they need to be, and as short as possible."

I followed the instructions and ended up with a pretty surreal meditational experience. It's certainly far removed from typical music theory, but it serves its intended purpose quite well. It's sort of like what Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" could have been if Reed wasn't so busy trying to stick it to the record company. Give it a listen when you're ready. In fact, it's pretty late at night here in jolly old Japan, and I do believe I'm going to go ahead and trip out to a track or two right now. For more of Sister Waize's sonic world, head for this website:
Hidden Dojo

Listen to Me:
Sister Waize - 2011 - Realignment Series I
Sister Waize - 2011 - Realignment Series II
Sister Waize - 2011 - Realignment Series III

The Nirvana Sitar and Strings Group - 1968 - Sitar & Strings

Quality: 3 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.5 out of 5

I'm always up for a psychsploitation album early in the morning (oh crap! it's 11:30am), and this one can certainly fill in for the cheese missing from my eggs. Just as the title sort of suggests, we've got a bunch of late 60's hits with the melody lines played on a sitar while 101 Strings-style orchestrations lumber on in the background. You're either in for this ride or you're not.

There's not a whole lot to say about most of this album. These aren't going to replace the revered versions of "House of the Rising Sun" or "The Letter," but they'd make for a wonderful bit of ironic film soundtracking. They did throw the sitar player a bone, however, and let him run wild in the studio for a few original tracks. "Crashing," "Mind Waves," and "Head" all ditch the strings, throw in a few tabla, and give us sort of the Whisky A-Go-Go, L.A. Strip sort of Indian meditation. As you probably know, I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, and those tracks kick up my appreciation of this monstrosity a bit. They actually sort of, kind of match the very groovy cover art, which you can't really say for the rest of this album.

This is a sort of a 'for connoisseurs only' type of release. If you're on the fence about it, you'll find far groovier things hanging around in the Psychedelic Garage,' but I know a few of you are going to dig this (even if mostly ironically).

A Large Chonker of Daevid Allen's Legacy

Linking guru srecko ujka has been busy adding links for a bunch of obscuro releases from Gong kingpin Daevid Allen in the comments section for Pierre Moerlin's Gong - 1979 - Downwind. I guess it's an inside joke that he put the links on the post for a Gong release that doesn't feature Mr. Allen - the fellow is definitely up on his Gong history (more than myself, really). Thanks for all the links!

Damaged Tape - 2011 - Ambiguous Reality

I'm always trying to keep from stagnating in my own music, and I think this new set of Damaged Tape recordings takes a step in a notably different direction. The first Damaged Tape album, "Electronic Ocean," was recorded with a very different set up than I have now, and I've been trying to return to the hazy, moody atmospheres of that album ever since unsuccessfully. I think I've finally managed to do so here. There is very little drum programming, and many tracks are based on arpaggiator riffs from my various synthesizers. I often start to make an ambient type track, but eventually find myself drifting in a different, more elaborate direction, yet much of this music makes for what I think is very groovy, shapeshifting psychedelic wallpaper. I had also been listening to a lot of 70's Vangelis during these sessions, and I think "Mathematics of the Genome" and "Sandcastles of Paraguay" hit upon that vibe quite nicely. I've also accepted that I play guitar a lot better than synthesizer, and I tried to mix in plenty of guitar work with the electronics - in fact, "Wheels of Vishnu" barely has a synthesizer in it. I've also been trying to live up to the Damaged Tape monkier a bit more, and have been trying to record with a little more warped sound and grit. While I'm still happy with albums like "Futara" and "Stone God," they sound a little more sterile and polished than I really wanted.

While I do the instrumental heavy lifting, this music would not be the same without the contributions of Scott Atkinson. I always dig his cosmic poetry, and his guidance as I'm recording is invaluable. He's also the fellow who comes up with the song titles (except for the last one), which I think gives the recordings their identity.

A couple of these tracks were recorded with my old roommate Devin Carlen in a late night, wasted recording session. I gave them a listen recently, and a few had a very freaky experimental edge that I still found entertaining six years later. Just as a warning, if you listen to "Waiting in a Time Capsule Trapped in Outer Space" on headphones, it may actually drive you insane - that or make you vomit from disorientation. Either way - you have been warned.

Ah yes, and the fellow you almost see on the cover is Mark Malek, a good friend of mind who I've played in bands with over the years and made a few entertaining Glaze of Cathexis remixes that I'll need to post eventually. We were in downtown Atlanta on our way to Mai Tai night at Trader Vic's when that was taken.

Anyway, here's a track listing for "Ambiguous Reality." I'd love to hear your comments about the songs:

1. The Fluorescent Darkness (2:19)
2. Pilgrimage of the Cosmic Warrior (4:32)
3. Victorian Era Phantoms of the Ganges (2:00)
4. Wheels of Vishnu (5:42)
5. Dance of the Stained-Glass Shamen (4:32)
6. The Tryps to Saturn (2:19)
7. Mathematics of the Genome (3:24)
8. Sandcastles of Paraguay (4:17)
9. The Tropical Glacier (4:07)
10. Ambiguous Reality (8:57)
11. Waiting in a Time Capsule Trapped in Outer Space (4:20)

Listen to Me:
Damaged Tape - 2011 - Ambiguous Reality (256kbs mp3)
Damaged Tape - 2011 - Ambiguous Reality (full quality part 1)
Damaged Tape - 2011 - Ambiguous Reality (full quality part 2)

Hawkwind - 1971 - In Search of Space

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

Hawkwind has a giant, intimidating discography, and I have to admit that I haven't delved too deeply into it. I do know that I dig this album quite well. The live "Space Ritual" typically gets the love, but I find the sound on that one a little muddy, and Lemmy's bass seems to be out of tune for most of the album (not that this detracts from the awesomeness of Lemmy). I dig the slightly more focused, and better recorded intergalactic musings found here. The band has no problem entering a full on psychedelic heavy metal groove, and there are plenty of wild early synth sounds to keep my attention.

The album opens with the punk rock stomp of "You Shouldn't Do That." It's an absolutely essential track with plenty of wah-wah acid guitar, wild saxophone madness, and some electronic tones to penetrate into the deepest recesses of your brain. This is all capped with some great breathless vocal 'harmonies' making the song's title a mantra. Yeah, it's 16 minutes long, but that may very well be too short. The other classic on this disc is "Master of the Universe," which I suppose is the band trying to usurp Black Sabbath's claim of the title "Master of Reality." I don't know if they quite take down Ozzy, but the psychedelic sludge is a pretty even match and Tomy Iommi probably would have killed all of Hawkwind to steal the guitar riff if he had had the chance (dammit, I need to write about heavy metal more often). "We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago" is a meditation on if the band had focused on progressiv bluegrass I suppose, while "Adjust Me" is a wandering experiment that doesn't quite pay off.

At this point Hawkwind was sitting a point right in the middle of progressive rock, heavy metal, and psychedelia, and it was a pretty groovy place to be. I don't know if this is really Hawkwind's best effort, but it is the one that I find myself listening to over and over again.

Parson Sound - 2001 - Parson Sound

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

A fellow sent me this a few months ago saying that it was the most psychedelic, mind-blowing thing he'd ever heard. While I'm not sure I'd give it that superlative, Parson Sound is a monolith of an album that certainly ranks in the upper tier of the 'trip-o-meter.' The date on this set is 2002, but the recordings of this certifiably insane Swedish band actually date from 1967-1968, during which time these guys rubbed elbows and picked up some pointers from avant-garde royalty like Terry Riley and Andy Warhol. In fact, a lot of this music does recall the Velvet Underground (which is actually a pretty impressive influence for 1967-68) playing krautrock. Most of the tracks are long form, noisy, psychedelic brain busters that will enjoyably test your endurance.

The slightly misnamed "10 Minutes" (it runs 10:30) introduces the band basic sound well, moving from an in your face acid rock and viola barnstormer to a more jazzy Canterbury-like vibe. To really test your mettle, though, head for the 20 minutes of full voltage insanity on "From Tunis to India in Fullmoon (On Testosterone)" or the 30 minutes of acid rockin' blues on "Skrubba." I'm sure Acid Mothers Temple has this hanging around somewhere in their record collection. This is a full blown experimental rock album, and there are some nice deviations from the seemingly endless sonic storm. "A Glimpse Inside the Glyptotec 66" is a cool, tape manipulated track of guitar feedback and maybe some viola - it certainly beats Brian Eno and Robert Fripp's collaborations to the punch. These a fun flute and percussion piece with "On How to Live," and "Blaslaten" goes full Terry Riley style, with of bunch of blaring woodwinds playing cyclic, interweaving parts.

This album really does require a lot of your attention, but it's very rewarding for those who dare to tread upon this sonic ground. It's really unfortunate that it took more than thirty years for this stuff to see the light of day - it would have been amazingly groundbreaking at the time. But at least we've got an awesome psychedelic confection for the ear of the modern listener.

*Hmmm... after taking a look a the All Music Guide, it seems that we're hearing a lot of cello - not viola. That's kind of embarrassing since I actually am a cellist.

Glaze of Cathexis - 2003 - Visits Planet Earth

Once upon a time, Glaze of Cathexis was an actually gigging band in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. These recordings pretty much sum up the recording legacy of that version of the band. Although I've always been psychedelically inclined musically, I tried to keep the democratic vibe working and there's a definite indie rock vibe to this music that I don't tend to go for these days. Bassist (and occasionally guitarist) Devin Carlen picked up on the fact that I didn't want to be the band dictator and was a major musical contributor to the arrangements and production; he's now part of the ghostly Americana band Gunstreet Glory - based in Seattle ('Dark Alley' is a clear indicator of where he was going).

We headed for the studio with our live set and a few more mellow tracks ready to record and bashed out the recording in a day-and-a-half, with another two-and-a-half days devoted to mixing and mastering. I'd say we did a pretty decent job in the time crunch. I didn't have any real production experience, but we chose Radium Recording because they recorded to half inch tape. I handed the engineer, Chris Bishop, a copy of the Jam's 'Sound Affects' and told him to make the recordings sound like that, and I think he more or less hit the mark. I hadn't really mixed anything at that point either - if I did it today I'd definitely crank up the vocals and the 12-string Rickenbacker (which I've now unfortunately sold), but when you're in the studio for the first time, you definitely feel like a bastard telling the engineer to crank up your own parts. With money and time a concern, I didn't have too many passes at the vocals, so the main thing that makes me cringe nowadays is that some of the vocals aren't quite, uh, in tune.

While I was pretty happy with the finished results, I couldn't resist but do a bit of 'Lucas-ing' to the recordings. I've added tambourine to several tracks, and added just a touch of Moog to three of them. My most drastic recording, though, was to the track 'Folk Hero.' I added some vocals to the instrumental bridge (I didn't have the balls to do Beach Boys harmonies with the guys around in the studio, y'know), along with a double tracked vocal to the chorus as I could barely make out the original vocal. In full disclosure, we also played under the name 'Rocket Number Nine,' but when myspace came around a few years later I realized that there were, like, 27 bands with that name. Thus, we're going to file this as a 'Glaze of Cathexis' recording.

I've added a few bonus lives tracks to the album as well. Devin and I tended to get rip roaring martini drunk live and do our best Replacements impression. Plus, this is about the only way you're going to hear Dr. Schluss in a live setting - in fact, I haven't played a live show since this 2006 recording. I don't have too many gigging opportunities out here in the mountains of Japan.

Listen to me:
Glaze of Cathexis - 2003 - Visits Planet Earth

Oneida - 2009 - Rated O

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

The second album in Oneida's as-yet-unfinished album triptych makes me think that there's nothing other than the artwork to tie them together. Not that that's a bad thing. Oneida gets prolific here and churns out a triple album. It's probably a good rule of thumb that no one should go for the triple album (ask the Clash), but here it seems more of a matter of organization. Each disc is extremely distinct. The first is an electronic fused ball of experimental sounds, while the third is devoted to the band drone jamming to more live grooves. These two discs are probably better than 'Preteen Weaponry' and for me positions the band as the most deserving heirs to krautrock making music today (we'll ignore the fact that Oneida is from the NYC area). The second disc doesn't hold my interest nearly as much, as the band ads vocals and goes for a more standard indie rock sound - granted it's droning, intense indie rock, and it probably works well in a concert setting, but it's by far the disc I play the least.

Just to screw with your mind, the first disc makes me think of a modern update of Can's "Tago Mago," although I'd certainly say that that particular album does remain far ahead of its time. "Brownout in Lagos" definitely fits its title, with a low rent booming bass sound vying with claustrophobic, mildly dangerous sounding electronic squiggles. "Story of O" gives us the unprocessed band's first trip out with Kid Millions providing another amazing drumming setpiece. Of the late space jams, "O" is about as peaceful as this band gets, with some sitar sounds trying to scale a mountain of tribal drumming and electronic drones. "Folk Wisdom" is a long trip through the psychedelic battleground, and could probably be substituted for a side of an Ash Ra Tempel album without anyone knowing the wiser.

Oneida tries out a whole like of different masks on this monster of an album, and typically manages to pull it off. I'll be the first to admit that I far prefer the wild excursions through interstellar space as opposed to the more grounded tunes found on the second disc, but the bands chops shine through the whole thing (well, except those damn indie rock vocals). If you've warn out the grooves on all those vintage Can albums, this isn't a bad place to go.

*Note: Part 3 was released on Jun 6, 2011 under the title "Absolute II"

Oneida - 2008 - Preteen Weaponry

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Oneida has been rocking insane noise drones for years, but I had never come across their music until a few years ago. This release is supposed to be the first of a three album concept (we've seen the second as of this writing as well), but I don't think that really matters when you give your ear over to the music. The band jams with wild, krautrock style abandon while also channeling the punkish sonics of fellow NYC bands like the Velvet Underground, Suicide, and Sonic Youth. It'll pummel you into a musical trance instead of gently nudging you into one as Indian or ambient music tends to do. I'd be remiss not to note strangely named Kid Millions, who serves as the bands drummer. Although always in control, he tends to take the point, pounding the holy hell out his drum kit as the rest of the band grooves on a drone.

There are only three tracks here, all bearing the album's name. Part One lunges into an insane tribal beat, with the guitar and a keyboard occasionally suggesting a bit of melody while the bass serves as an anchor. The second part is a slower drone that suggests a bit of the stranger side of space rock, although it's a space stuffed with fuzz. A electronically processed (but clearly performed) motorik beat grounds the third part as odd electronic sounds float above the surface.

Perhaps not as wildly groundbreaking as the best of the 70's krautrock bands, Oneida certainly knows how to pack a sonic punch. For me it's mostly one hell of a drum performance while the rest of the band does a fine job adding the icing on their, uh, cake of sound.