Search - Acid Mothers Temple :: Are We Experimental

A great release by Acid Mothers Temple

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 10/31/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to admit that Acid Mothers Temple and all the varying names they come up with might not be the most consistent psychedelic space rock group out there, because they release so much stuff (not to mention members coming and going) and not afraid to show both their weak and strong points. I felt at their worst, they can drone on for 40 minutes and can get tedious (making you wish Kawabata Makoto would put some restraint on his guitar playing) (although I heard some of their 40 minute plus jams and drones that do work), at their best, they can deliver some of the wildest and finest psychedelia ever. Do you think psychedelic bands from the 1960s would feature a guitarist like Kawabata Makoto? Of course not! Just remember if you thought the guitar playing of Ed Wynne of Ozric Tentacles was wild, Kawabata Makoto's guitar playing gives Ed a run for his money, plus he loves to experiment with feedback and distortion, while Ed's guitar playing is more like Steve Hillage on speed (and as any Ozric fan knows, Ed doesn't experiment with feedback and distortion). This group is all over the place, releases I've heard had been heavily influenced by the Krautrock scene (like Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Duul I and II, etc.), other releases that were in the Gong and Ozric Tentacles vein (most particularly Iao Chant, which is an hour long take on Gong's "Master Builder"), others like Hawkwind, others not reminding me of any particular group. Occasionally the band's Japanese roots show in, so don't be surprised if on an occasional release you hear shakuhachi (bamboo flute) or koto, or Buddhist chanting. Minimalism is also an influence, does help when they have their own version of Terry Riley's In C. Ozric Tentacles tend to be very consistent in what they do, some complain they stay too much in their comfort zone and not take more chances, but Acid Mothers Temple does! I get the feeling why AMT has so many releases is they do everything in one take. The Swedish/Danish/American space rock combo Øresund Space Collective, from what I've heard from those guys tend also to be hit or miss although they have a much more restrained approach than AMT.



It's also not hard to talk about the amount of album covers and album titles these guys spoof from endless Krautrock, psychedelic, prog, and even more standard rock albums. I could only imagine the reaction of anyone sifting through AMT CDs seeing familiar covers spoofed like that. My first AMT purchase was Iao Chant from the Cosmic Inferno, spoofing Gong's Camembert Electrique, but instead covering "Master Builder" off You.



AMT will not be to everyone's liking, and even I admit I don't like everything they do. But I am really happy with Are We Experimental? (obvious pun of Hendrix, right down to the spoof of the American version of the album cover to Are You Experienced? - remember the UK version of Are You Experienced? featured a completely different cover). What they did here is totally jettisoned the 40 minute jams in favor of 11 shorter pieces, none over 8 minutes long. That never gives anything they do here a chance to overstay their welcome. I really love this album, ranging from the distortion and feedback that Kawabata Makoto loves so much to experiments in minimalism, use of wind instruments that remind me a little of such RIO groups as Univers Zero like on "Daruma Clause in Opposition" (I should have figured, the title is a spoof of "Rock in Opposition", as in Chris Cutler's music festival and music genre). I love the jazzy experiment of "Goodbye Big..." (in which you suddenly get treated with some droning), while "Ultimate Unhip Blues" reminds me a bit of Hendrix on speed, probably due to the distortion and feedback that's in the similar style to Hendrix.



There's no band like Acid Mother's Temple. No other band would show you their strong and weak points in such a blatant manner as these guys. As I am big on prog, psychedelia, and Krautrock, you hear enough of AMT, you begin to wonder what they do is either a tribute, or a spoof, or both, of those genres. They can be painfully boring or totally mindblowing, and I'm really happy to say that with Are We Experimental, they were definitely the latter on this release. Since collecting AMT can be a minefield, this is a great one to have, and one of the best releases of what I've heard."