Electric Wizard | 2014 | Time to Die

Psychedelic | Stoner | Doom Metal
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Link | mp3 | 320 Kbps

Jus Oborn (vocals, guitar, bass), Liz Buckingham (guitar) and Mark Greening (drums, organ)

For Electric Wizard, Time to Die meant not only the (short-lived) comeback of Mark Greening to the band's lineup, but also the return to their more heavy sound. In this sense, one must remember that Witchcult Today and Black Masses had reflected a sonic drift in which the group's psychedelic stoner/doom, virtually a trademark of their own, was softened in favour of a more vintage, retro sound. Time to Die thus presents the inrush of renewed misanthropy tinged with psychedelic and hypnotic densities, pretty much in line with the path that the band from Dorset had been pursuing until 2004's We Live.
Nonetheless, in contrast to their previous works in this vein, Time to Die is a less digestible record and it requires many listens in order to reveal its richness, which has a lot to do, undoubtedly, with its manifest depressive character. Indeed, if in records such as Dopethrone Electric Wizard's narcotic misanthropy translated into a destructive fervour (see, for example, the lyrics for "Funeralopolis" or "We Hate You"), here it manifests itself in self-destructive impulses ("I wanna get high before I die, I wanna die...", Jus Oborn sings in "Incense for the Dead", or "I am nothing, I mean nothing", in "I am nothing") that demand the listener to be in a specific mood in order to really dig the album.
That being said, this is a powerful record whose sound and composing efforts are the reflection of a much needed process of renewing the band's energy, inasmuch as their last studio works –especially the Legalise Drugs & Murder EP, from 2012– showed a serious exhaustion of Electric Wizard's formula. And quite possibly a good portion of that new energy came from chaos: the departure of Glenn Charman and Simon Poole and Mark Greening's turbulent return. The corrosive forces of conflict within the band's core –Greening would leave short after the release of Time to Die– fed the scratchy creative process behind this album, for sure, and gave it a radiance that hadn't showed up in Electric Wizard for almost a decade. And now, we'll just have to wait to see what the future will bring to "the heaviest band in the universe". —IMF

A Full Cosmic Sound / Ø+yn ‎| 2016 | Split

Drone | Ambient | Experimental
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This nameless split brings together two of the most relevant bands within the current Latin American experimental scene, each one with a vast and fertile discography. Thus, it already sounded like a promising album on paper and, luckily and by virtue of both band's talent, it's up to the expectations.
In both parts of "Obsidiana" –which form the first half of the split–, A Full Cosmic Sound undertakes a beautiful ambient exercise in which a meditative and melancholic sound predominates. The band's remarkable merit is to have deconstructed its sound –always experimental and hypnotic– and to have taken it to its minimal expression, to its most primal and bare essence. The minimalist approach that AFCS adopted in "Obsidiana" has an evident genius to it and is a reflection of the different routes that the Santiago collective can undertake with no risk of getting lost. This is one of the highest points of their discography, no doubt.
On the other hand, although "En cromo" is not as innovative as the first half vis à vis the expectations that one could have in the face of Ø+yn's style, the sonic experiment towards which the group heads down does not pale in contrast to the first part of the split. Quite the opposite: while keeping the listener in trance, the band resorts to field recordings and to a sonic journey with a tribal and shamanic feel to garnish that introspective trip with psychedelic nuances and atmospheres that, albeit just as primal as those of A Full Cosmic Sound, are developed in Ø+yn's own language.
In their split, AFCS and Ø+yn simultaneously achieved cohesion and eclecticism in an album that, in sum, confirms the relevance and splendour of both collectives. It is, thus, advisable to listen, to immerse yourself and to, simply, lift your feet off the ground. —IMF

Caudal | 2016 | Let's All Take the Yellow Pills

Space | Post-Rock
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Aidan Baker (guitar), Gareth Sweeney (bass) and Felipe Salazar (drums)

After the unexpected twist that the Murk EP meant within Caudal's discography, it was worth asking what the next step of the Berlin trio would be. In that record, which was released last year, the band ventured into more lugubrious grounds than those of their previous albums, Forever in Another World and Ascension, which were tinged with space atmospheres and an undeniable kraut spirit. Thus, while in the latter Caudal's sound came close to the likes of NEU!, Agitation Free or even Ataxia, Murk's crypticism evoked Aidan Baker's work in Nadja at times.
Let's All Take the Yellow Pills –soon to be published by Calostro Recordings– unambiguously dispels all the questions. Returning to the hypnotic, space post-rock from before, Caudal seem to be back on the path from which they had diverted for an instant to experiment with a new formula. Thereby, and without hesitation, the band undertakes a journey through three pieces that confirm that Baker, Sweeney and Salazar speak the same language; one of outstanding originality, something that had already showed up in their previous releases. The atmospheres in Let's All Take... are patiently intertwined through a subtle and always heartwarming instrumental development that gradually shapes delicate, dreamy soundscapes that drive the listener into an introspective trip for which the pristine honesty of Caudal’s sound constitutes the perfect soundtrack. Another excellent release by the plurinational trio. —IMF

El diAblo es un magnífico | 2013 | El diAblo es un magnífico

Experimental | Post-Rock
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Cristian Sánchez, Daniel Llermaly and Cristóbal Cornejo

This Chilean band has been active for more than a decade, but in their last album they have reinvented themselves like never before, leaving behind a particular –yet somewhat shuttered– branch of post-rock/post-hardcore, towards a more eclectic sound, albeit without losing their identity and cohesion. Although this self-titled album was recorded in 2013 and released in CDr/digipack format in 2014, Volante Discos re-released it in tape format just this year.
One of the natural reasons behind the reinvention of diAblo's sound –notice, as well, that they have readopted their original moniker, El diAblo es un magnífico ("The Devil is magnificent"), quoting the hidden satanic message found in Xuxa's tapes– is the lineup change, which evolved from a quintet into a trio, consisting of Cristian Sánchez (founding member), Daniel Llermaly (La Golden Acapulco) and the recently deceased Cristóbal Cornejo –this review is obviously written in his memory. Whereas in their previous records (Seiseiseis, Coma, La ruta nos aportó otro paso natural, etc.) diAblo always developed an experimental kind of post-rock, hard to classify, yet with a proper identity, in this album they return, to some extent, to their more chaotic roots (Proyecto Cajas), and produce a sound with more varied influences, away from any specific genre; the band rather develops their own style, which plays with diverse influences and moods.
Thus, this begins with "Chamico (Nazi Folk Fuck Off)", a song with Afro-latin rhythms that somehow reveals an influence of The Ex, but without resorting to blatant imitation. This is, no doubt, the most accessible track in the album, which then turns to more minimalist sounds that show a remarkable natural dynamic, without losing melody. "Navidad y Matanza" (which is also the name of Cristian Sánchez's solo project) is one of my favorites, inasmuch as it delivers a melancholic folk-sonic hybrid resorting to (Chilean) Northern-folklore instrumentation, thus providing this trip with depth and emotionality, as well as with humility and heart (diAblo had not composed something as moving as this since Julio). The journey continues with "Asunción y Caída de las Ruinas Suspendidas", which begins with a sound close to that of diAblo's previous works, due to its having post-rock elements, just as "Chamico"; after a few minutes, however, it explodes into the roar of distorted guitars, into a sludge-metal riff surrounded by more atmospheric guitars and sonic frolics. With a more peaceful and luminous mood, "Polen" consists in five minutes of acoustic guitars dressed with space electronics. For its part, "Chivito Negro de Cinco Patas" is an energetic track, in which dancing drums (again with an ethno-punk feel à la The Ex) constitute a basis over which playful space noises take place, contrasting with a drone bass –krautrock in the vein of NEU! might be another reference as well. Then, suddently but naturally, dreadlocks emerge and we are taken into the grounds of dub (an genre revered by La Golden Acapulco), from which –suddently and naturally too– we depart towards a hardcore explosion, which vanishes in the fields of ambient drone. The last track of the album, "Curanderos Filipinos", is a mild and hypnotic lull of just over a minute, in which a Northern rhythm (?) is irrigated with field recordings and exotic winds (some sort of zampoña).
This is, undoubtedly, my favorite album by diAblo (along with Projecto Cajas), and to some extent, one of my favorite albums recorded in Chile, not only due to my sympathy for their sounds, but also due to the sonic-musical "decisions", both reckless and natural, that one finds throughout this record and which transform it into a unique piece, with vague references and a proper style, which transmits honesty and humility. —Michel Leroy

Electric Wizard | 2002 | Let Us Prey

Psychedelic | Stoner | Doom Metal
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Link | mp3 | 320 Kbps

Jus Oborn (guitar, vocals), Tim Bagshaw (bass), Mark Greening (drums, piano) and Paul Sax (violin on "Night of the Shape")

During September and October 2001, Electric Wizard faced a huge challenge: to record the successor to Dopethrone, considered by many as the band's masterpiece, and the album that, undoubtedly, earned them the moniker of "the heaviest band in the universe". Indeed, Dopethrone marked the milestone of a formula that, within its transition that started with their self-titled debut, had reached its pinnacle: a sound in perfect equilibrium between psychedelia and density, and lyrics rich in misanthropy and hatred towards a miserable world in which there's nothing else to do but to escape.
In that sense, it was already evident that there was nothing else to do within the same spectrum, so something had to change. And although change is never wanted by conservative and stubborn fans, Electric Wizard took that sidestep; they ventured into that "no" that translated into a "fuck it", into a risky twist, into a sound that didn't have to prove anything and that, experimental, undertook the trip towards another dimension. Let Us Prey is exactly that: a statement, an adventure without frontiers. Electric Wizard lost fans, but thanks to their liberation, managed to record one of their best albums.
As is clear in its sound, the band's fourth LP turned the old misanthropy into schizoid, transformed it into a furious roar and, at the same time, into a cosmic blast-off, into a rampant allucination, into a lethargic and incoherent vociferation made by someone who already began a one-way trip, with no return. The twitch was so powerful that it weakened the trio's own foundations, as if no such turbulence were possible without losing sight of the experiment itself. After a tour throughout North America, Tim Bagshaw and Mark Greening left the band in 2003 and Electric Wizard would redefine their course, leaving behind Let Us Prey as an indelible testimony of the narcotic vehemence of those last days. —IMF

Tiny Tim | 1968 | Tiny Tim's 2nd Album

Psychedelic | Baroque Pop
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Link | mp3 | 256 Kbps

It is difficult to describe a record like Tiny Tim's 2nd Album, due to the deep emotional charge that albums like this inevitably generate over time and after a number of listens. But what can be added about pieces of this category will never be enough.
Although chronologically it could be classified as psychedelic or barroque pop, it would not be unfit to add the "vaudeville" label to the New Yorker's second album, owing to its beautifully aged sound and to the fact that, as a remarkable archivist, Tiny Tim covers songs from decades earlier, from times when the world still had some of the romantic spirit of the 19th century. In that sense, it is a record that stands out for its honest sound and a spirit that only evokes kindness and harmony, which end up shaping an album rich in its diversity, with a repertoire that ranges from deeply melancholic ballads to playful and lively rock & roll, with a huge stretch between both ends –with a sound share of crazyness in between.
Tiny Tim's 2nd Album is a record within which boredom is inexistent, but whose essential value, beyond that, lies in Tiny Tim's vocal performance, so genuine and sensitive, which attracts the listener not only in the merely formal grounds of music, but also in an emotional plane. A beautiful work with an unparalleled sincerity. —IMF

Un Festín Sagital | 2014 | Etna

Space | Experimental Rock

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Michel Leroy (guitar, organ, waves, theremin, drums), Constanza Lagos (flute, organ), Fernando Pinto (bass) and Diego Pinto (drums, guitar)

Etna could be considered, without doubt, the easiest point of entry to Un Festín Sagital's discography. On the one hand, its sound, without leaving the band's experimental vocation behind, ventures without fear into the exploration of psychedelic, lethargic landscapes; a trip that puts the album among UFS' most digestible works.
But what's interesting about the album is not only its accessibility. On the other hand, the combination of this space facet with Un Festín Sagital's more habitual avant-prog makes Etna an entertaining, well-conceived album, with a compositional quality at the level of the other releases of the band and a stronger performance than ever. Although eclectic, it has its own spirit and each track fits perfectly in its place, contributing from a particular flank to the developing of an hypnotic, captivating atmosphere. The album wanders without difficulty between lysergic pieces such as "Árboles Negros" (a song that had been recorded before) or "Anubis: Sueño y Muerte", the kraut of "Lakonn" and the intense "Etna", and the more experimental passages of "Acéfalo" or the cryptic "Asesino del Sol III", closer to Festín's distinctive avant-prog.
Etna perfectly summarizes the fact that Un Festín Sagital can explore anywhere they want without stumbling, always reaching outstanding results. Their discography as a whole is a living proof of that, and Etna constitutes one of the key pieces within that exceptional binnacle. Another must-hear Un Festín Sagital album. —IMF

A Full Cosmic Sound | 2011 | A Full Cosmic Sound

Exp | Psych | Drone
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A Full Cosmic Sound's first album constitutes an experimental ritual that sounds, at the same time, ethereal, cryptic and hypnotic. It is difficult to classify in specific genres, but I think that's precisely the idea.
The band fuses its influences in a sort of space-drone rock that in its simple development introduces a subtle, but honest and emotive melodic sensitivity. Although the music here is strongly based on electronic instruments (including, for example, the percussions), AFCS' eponymous debut sounds organic and humane, and in just five tracks shows the creative potential that the band showed since its beginning. —IMF

Stereolab | 1993 | Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements

Krautrock | Art Pop | Post-Rock

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Link | mp3 | V0 (ripped by us)

Laetitia Sadier (vocals, organ, others), Mary Hansen (vocals, tambourine, guitar), Tim Gane (guitar, organ, others), Sean O'Hagan (organ, Farfisa, guitar), Duncan Brown (bass, guitar, vocals) and Andy Ramsay (percussion, organ, bouzouki)

Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements is an album that combines an almost decidedly pop sensitivity with the hypnotic volatility of krautrock. Without hesitation, Stereolab wanders from simple indie melodies such as "I'm Going Out Of My Way" –which, by the way, don't leave the german influences aside– to epic motorik deliria such as "Golden Ball" or "Jenny Ondioline". In sum, all this multiform variety of mellow but deep melodies constitute a powerful album, beautiful and delicately lysergic, in which Lætitia Sadier's sweet voice builds a trance fed by perfect synthesizers, space drums and an evident (but subtle) experimental vocation. In other words, they form an album that gives new life to krautrock without selling it to a commercial sound, but nourishing it with a dreamy, harmonious sensitivity. —IMF