|
|
What their label says...
Followers of these farout Oregon rockers might have noticed them
straying into more coherent, songwriterly territory on their last
album, but this new collection of concert recordings and radio sessions
steps firmly back into the realm of the thoroughly weird. The four
long, improvised pieces here were variously recorded in the US, the UK
and France with a rotating cast of players, giving each a distinct
feel. The common thread is the woozy, hypnotic pace, defined by often
the barest of percussion and slowly phasing waves of feedback. Vague,
refracted hints of torch-song blues or Herbie Hancock-style organ jazz
appear now and then, providing some of the most distinctive moments,
and a couple of the pieces build to noisy peaks with impressive
subtlety. The blank minimalism of some passages can be a drag, but when
it works, America Mystica proves to be a fine excursion into artful
abstraction.
|