Search - Farflung :: A Wound In Eternity

Heirs to Hawkwind, Kyuss & Chrome

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 05/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hawkwind's epic drone, Kyuss' punchy hum, Chrome's metallic sheen: since the mid-90s, this California band's created a strong following for its infusion of these influences into its catchy, yet dense blend. Their earlier albums I've not heard; unfortunately if understandably, the outrageous prices (one for $320, one a bargain at $150) of the few still for sale dissuaded me. Well-produced considering probably a limited budget, their newest deserves attention, and should at its affordable price find it.



The band continues in the wake of these three groups. Tommy Grenas played with Hawkwind member Nik Turner, while the other members rank Pressurhed and Damo Suzuki's Network among their credits. This heritage, like some Pete Frame genealogy, shows Farflung lives up to its inheritance of formidably intelligent musical DNA.



"Unborn Planet": A spirited opener, more stripped-down akin to recent stoner-punk. Its kraut-rock pep ensures that while it could go on forever quite nicely, and you would not mind if it would, nonetheless it marches efficiently on to make room for sonic missions needing more time to let their emotions sink in and their ideas unfurl. The album keeps altering between such phases smartly and rhythmically.



"Endless Drifting Wreck": synths add spatial depth to this as it thrums along for nearly seven minutes. Sounding exactly like what its title promises! This more meditative excursion appeals to Hawkwind devotees; the band wisely alternates slower with speedier textures before building up momentum. "Like It Has Never Been" enters into tribal territory, slowing down into textures that recall Milwaukee's similarly inspired F/X. If Brian Jones had left the Stones and recorded a few decades more Moroccan cross-over tunes, perhaps he'd sound like this. Solid modern psychedelia that again mid-tune swerves into nearly Led Zep's brutal fortress. Vocals tend to accentuate rather than dominate, as one more layer, and this integration adds to the structure of the songs better for my tastes than some art-metal groups, where singing goes against the grain of the music. While bands like Sleep have been justly renowned for this delivery, I prefer the more organic, less abrasive vocals Farflung stirs in.



I hear less of the Pink Floyd or Black Sabbath comparisons than some others do. There's only a hint I heard of Sabbath, and that tends to be a common ground shared with many stoner-rockers, naturally. I'd emphasize Chrome, along with Hawkwind, as the likelier progenitor for the fusions created by Farflung today.



Perhaps because my own roots lie deepest in the original era of punk, crossed with 70s hard rock and tangled with psych new and old, I tend to recognize the tones closer to my own record collection. Farflung, as heirs not only to the early 70s but the later part of that crucial decade, wisely know not to let their songs go on too long. They've learned well how to couple the prog-rocker's liking of the long horizon with the punk's preference for confined restraint. The chafing of the concept album's need for volubility with the song-oriented emphasis on concision means that this band chooses to balance the two modes deftly.



"Stella Volo" returns to the opening song's jauntier stance, akin perhaps to Chrome. Farflung here may let the reverb effects linger a bit on the vocals to somewhat retro effect, which may bother Hawkwind fans less than those of Kyuss. For me, this slows the drive of the song, easing down the tune by this overlapping effect as the song tries to progress. Yet, this does increase tension before fading into a Middle-Eastern section that sounds as if enunciated from that alien bar scene in Tattooine.



"IX" advances along this caravan's trail, with the synths, drums, bass, and guitars supporting a harsher chanted vocal that matches the previous song's moods. The absence of manipulation of the voice, by contrast, for this track serves to concentrate the focus of the band on moving deeper into the locked groove underneath the keyboards. "Silver Shrooms" begins with a great bass riff, drum play, and synths laced into guitars to take the listener into the ethereal. It moves at a deliberate pace, while the mix emphasizes the rhythm section confidently.



"Invincible" enters into perhaps more urban realms, as it conjures up a concrete panorama at midnight. Midway, it too glides sideways into a rowdier crowd of anthemic playing and punchier singing. Such transitions, I imagine, in concert must allow for considerable expansion of these carefully composed structures, and here the album may succeed even better in capturing the stratified construction of its songs, which beg for such elaboration and experimentation. The song ends with clanking that makes its off-ramp flight hesitate almost nostalgically.



"Precognition" segues into hisses and exhaust, as if the voyage now underway's left you aloft. It takes its time getting its bearings. Notes ping for location before the voices return. A science-fiction tale's told, as one might anticipate from the title. The reverb's back, and the Hawkwind attitude of both intense involvement and detached scrutiny of one's feeble attempts to master the universe makes this a fitting conclusion to an album that feels longer than it is. That's a compliment!"

Reborn

Chromefreak | 04/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After several mediocre albums, Grenas and the Flungers are back in form with "A Wound in Eternity." Heavier than Jupiter's gravity and hotter than the core of the sun, tracks like "Unborn Planet" and "Endless Drifting Wreck" crash their way through asteroid belts, black holes and quasars with molten guitar riffs, spinning synth sweeps and Grenas' vacuum-sealed helium voice. One gets the impression of Sabbath at their most cosmic fused with Hawkwind at their spaced out heaviest. But Farflung still retain the psychedelic edge everyone has come to expect from them: "Silver Shrooms" is like a soundtrack for your microcosmic experiences inside an isolation tank. Easily one of Farflung's best albums and a must have for 3rd millennium space rockers."

It Was Earth All Along...

K. Brigance | Where East Meets West | 11/10/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Alright, well, it appears not a whole lot of people have heard of this band, but luckily my local record store had a copy of their latest album (probably the only time they will considering the incredible limitedness of Meteor City releases).



Farflung want to emphasize psychedelia as much as they do heaviness. Kyuss fuzz melds Tab-era Monster Magnet whooziness for an album that doesn't sacrifice heaviness for cerebricity. A very focused affair, when Farflung meander into cosmic jams it is controlled with a gravitational tightness that pulls the solar-flare of the guitar work back to the black hole of their core.



Beginning with the space-punk rush of "Unborn Planet" Farflung are indeed ready for take-off. To these ears, this song, as well as heavier moments throughout the album, sounds as though Lemmy never left Hawkwind, and instead opted to take control of the band and combine their spaciness with his need for raw aggression. Slowly and subtlely, the band begins infusing trancey drone sessions, psychedelic jam-outs, and flat out space-rock disorientation. At times you feel like your listening to something along the lines of a straight-forward Nebula-styled stoner affair. It won't last, but you won't recognize the change or miss what you left on Earth. On "A Wound in Eternity", tracks are discernable from one another, but only if you are paying the type of attention that albums as such are not meant for.



And that is the best thing I can say about "A Wound in Eternity". It is an album that retains a core of rock n' roll craftmanship yet, when it delves into the otherworldly, the listener is still hearing a rock n' roll band. I can't say that about a lot of the other so-called "experimental" bands out there.



This is far from the first release from the band, and hopefully not the last. 'A Wound in Eternity' should be able to garner a cult status on it's own. Possibly this albums awesome power can invoke a meteor to crash down on Coldplay's yacht. Get this album if you are looking for some high times and stellar grooves."