Thursday, May 7, 2009

Sudden Oak - S/T (Bezoar Formations CS)


Sitting in the library today so I'm really cranking out some reviews. Psyched to finally be able to get around to this one, which has been sitting on the back burner for way too long. Remember those Bezoar discs I reviewed way back? Yeah, well this is from that batch, and it surely didn't get thrown aside due to any musical dislike on my part. This one's a killer.

Featuring Matt and John (whoever they may be) on saxophone and guitar respectively, this release has a uniquely tangible quality that likely stems from the lack of electronics. Which isn't to say that this doesn't sound electronic. John's guitar work is drenched in psychedelic psychosis, all over the map, and Matt's sax blowing is washed out and glistening. Pretty amazing, and the two can clearly really play together, intermeshing lines in a frenzy at one time, and taking it into some weird subaquatic territory the next, as acidic guitar lines are met with repeating sax gestures. Short though the tape may be (it's only a C-21), the duo squeeze in a lot, pulling from all sorts of angles in their aesthetic without sounding like any of them. The guitar destruction is especially brutalizing, and sometimes the two will meet on this odd off note that nauseating and thrilling in the same breath. Highly zonked and totally beautiful, as seems to be consistently the case with these lads. They haven't put out anything in a bit if there website is any indication, but it would be great to here more from these guys, as they clearly have a unique sound. Love that they went for the tape on this one too, the fidelity washes it all together and makes it that much more psychotic. Nice.

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