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I have to admit that I've been in love with pretty much everything Chasny has released under the title of Six Organs of Admittance. So much of that output has struck me with its immediately embracing nature - the calm wash of guitar tones, the mesmerizing melodies, the feeling of being in touch with some "other" while just being a listener. Yeah, it's all such good stuff. I was intrigued last year when I found out that there was going to be a Six Organs record on Drag City. While I doubted the label would fork over a fortune to have the record recorded, I felt that some time in a true, honest-to-god studio could give Chasny's compositions a chance to go some places that just couldn't occur in less complex surroundings. In light of this intrigue I was quite happy when I finally got a chance to hear this album yesterday - it's pretty damn stunning and phenomenal.

These days with my schedule is so packed full of work and various out of the house committments that it is a testament to the strength of a piece of music when it gets played more than 2 or so times over the course of a week. That said, I've played this bad boy 4 times in about 36 hours. I think it's that good on first blush. While it doesn't really feel like there has been a massive expansion or a next step taken in any of these tracks from previous releases, School of the Flower is a example of what happens when an artist takes their strengths and almost perfectly displays just how strong they are.

While each and every one of the album's eight tracks are splendid, the lengthy title track is the best illustration of how Chasny has taken all of the opportunities presented to him by a more elaborate studio and completely exploited each one to the best of his ability. The first several minutes of the track are spent with the acoustic guitar building the overall tone and theme which continues to dominate the remainder in some form or another for the rest of track's close-to fourteen minute duration. The quickly repeated phrase is joined by mid-mix percussive punctuation and an increasingly frantic electric drone. Layer upon layer, the track is a wonderful assembly that stays with this listener for quite a while after it has ended.

I end up only having one gripe about this completely fantastic album - it seems as if the ultra-talented Chris Corsano may have been somewhat underused throughout. Given his immense abilities it's a bit of shame his appearance is so subdued. Then again, with Chasny playing so masterfully from start to finish maybe putting Corsano any further forward would have taken away from that brilliance. On second thought, I wouldn't change a thing. I have a good feeling I already know one album that will be on my 2005 best-of list...

Six Organs of Admittance at Amazon & Insound