A good place to start...
J. P. DuQuette | Shizuoka, Japan | 12/31/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is nowhere as good as their La Novia release and nowhere as intense as their fantastic live show, but its a relatively accessible starting point to expore these tripped-out troubadours. The long first track is good indication of the kind of fuzzed out improvisational track that these guys are famous for, but the rest of the album is relatively gentle in comparison. Great psychedelic/folk/noise hybrid, completely irony free (though certainly not humor free, as Tsuyama of Omoide Hatoba fame consistantly proves). I actually like it better than a some of their self-released stuff, but tastes may differ. Rest assured Kawabata, Tsuyama, HACO and the rest are just as great as the hype recently surrounding them, especially in the British 'alternative music' press; whether American audiences (or anyone) will ever get a representative sampling of this great band is anyone's guess, however...Check the great article on these guys in WIRE magazine if you want the full scoop on the band."
Forward into the past...
Robert Kennedy | Astoria, NY United States | 10/04/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Although this group has been getting a fair amount of press in alt/indy/weird music circles, this CD didn't strike me as the mind-melting extravaganza that their reputation promised. Although it is indeed a noisy and sonically dense affair, I'd hoped for some more groundbreaking directions in what they actually do with all of that sound. The terrain here has already been mapped by the likes of Amon Duul, Hawkwind, Faust, Guru Guru, early Tangerine Dream, and Popol Vuh. The record just didn't make a strong impression on me. All that being said, it's still a decent effort, some of the elements are quite interesting (such as the opening track, a 21-minute freakout layering walls of guitar noise and tribal drumming with violins, bagpipes, synthesizers), and this will definitely have some appeal to aficionados of some of the bands mentioned above. Probably wouldn't hurt to "smoke 'em if you got 'em", as it were, while giving it a listen."
Fantastic psychadelica cosmos rock
S. R Robertson | Oh Henry? | 09/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After hearing this band being thrown around on various Amazon best of lists, I had to check it out, and I agree with most of the optimism---this is an amazing record that all fans of psychadlic music and acid freaks alike have to check it out. From beginning to end, it's a sprawling endless psycho-space adventure filled with many altered paths and courses. Here's the run-down, chummies:"Psycho Buddha": An insane, sporadic cosmos rumbler that seems to carry those "verring out of control" moments of other psychadelic bands on for more than 20 minutes. Consistent drumming and distorted guitars and bass keep the beat pulsing, while layers of uncategorizable noise and random instruments (bagpipes for instance) add extra doses of madness to the mayhem. Gotta be heard to be believed."Space Age Ballad": Things cool down considerably here, but with no less emotion. A meandering electronic drone melody wanders about while a haunting ghost from ions ago plays a lost melody with voice and guitar. Good stuff."You're Still Now Near Me Everytime": A beautiful blissed-out rock song with grungy female vocals and top notch guitar from Kawabuta. Morphs into a several minute guitar solo freakout that, while not nearly as wild as Psycho Buddha and Occie Lady, is still very moving. My favorite track."Universe Of Romance": A similar mixture of washes of meandering noises, simple instrumentation, and ghostly vocals to Space Age Ballad but instead of acoustic guitar we have an oriental koto---which makes the ancient trip to the past aspect even stronger. Feels like I'm walking around in the gardeney ruins of some forgotten palace. "Occie Lady": Shakes and thunders like a hurricane. Another nerve shattering psychologically terrorizing freakout trip in the vein of Psycho Buddha. The ending may surprise you."Mellow Hollow Love": A pretty space flower ballad done with acoustic guitar and alien vocals while a vintage synthesizer sound adds disconnected confusion to the batch. Real nice and somnambulant."LIke Heavenly Kisses part 2": By far the best track on the album despite the fact that it doesn't "rock", but it doesn't have to. It sounds like a more emotional response to the beyond words freefloating scene towards the end of 2001 A Space Odyssey. Drones upon drones that detach you into freeform conciousness, and by the end of the performance, you'll be crying to the simple guitar bliss of God. If you love Sigur Ros, you'll love this. Dogs speak in Spanish turquoise ted transmissions wounded blue quazar told me so soda--Max Headroom"
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1