Gnod - Chaudelande Volume 1

Everyone loves Gnod right? These Manchester lads have got the balance between freeform improvised, Krautrock groove and cosmic Space Rock down to a fine art with tons of sweet self-released Tapes/CD'S and a couple of LP's (including a split with White Hills) to prove it. Prior to their last European tour they we're invited to a small studio in Chaudelande, a town in the Normandy countryside of France, to record a bunch of tracks. The result is the Chaudalande sessions which will be released in two volumes, this obviously being the first. 'Tron' and 'Visions Of Load' dominate the first side. 'Tron' is an epic bonger filled with massive Acid Mothers-esque riffage and the gnarliest bass tone I've heard in some time. This is complimented by a metronomic drum groove and lashings of echo drenched vocal rants. It's total space-echo abuse at it's finest. 'Visions Of Load' is similarly motorik in the groove department and echo's the style recently displayed by Wooden Shjips spin-off Moon Duo. This is a real solid pleasurable ear sauce that brings to mind a more ballsy version of the recent kraut inspired Cave LP. 'The Vertical Dead' completes volume 1 in spiritual style with a slow burning mantra that evolves over 17 or so minutes without ever really peaking. Brings to mind Om but with more players. So yeah, three very different compositions from one killer act. What more could you ask for in these impressively bleak times.