Comets On Fire - Field Recordings From the Sun
(BaDaBing!)
There is nothing better than picking up a CD that you know absolutely nothing about and then having your ass handed back to you on a platter. Comets on Fire are still a bit of an enigma to me. Despite having had this album in my possession for the last month and a half, the band still exists as little more than a singular thought in my head - destruction. From the press materials I've cobbled together a few facts about the band and they are all I know. First, the masterpiece known as Field Recordings From the Sun is the band's second album (but first to have any actual distribution as the other was from a private run of 500 copies). Second, this album marks a bit of experimentation in recording. The core members of the band had arranged some rough riffs and song ideas that they introduced to their guest musicians in the studio. They went about doing things in the manner so that the recorded output would fully represent the spontaneity of the sessions. Third, I am absolutely positive that this is what the end will sound like, whenever and however it may come.
The range and variety of sounds contained on Field Recordings From the Sun directly reflects the diversity of instruments brought together during the sessions. We're talking about things such as jews harps, oscillators, echoplexes, heaven bells and, far and away the king of this collection, the electric destruction fuzz guitar. Need I really say more about what sort of treat you are in for? Damn. Ethan Miller leads the guitar assault straight through the fray and shares the use of this destructive tool with none other than Ben Chasny of the Six Organs of Admittance. Add in some truly frenzied drumming, some in-your-face bass playing, occasional chants and some additional guitar nonsense from The Fucking Champs' Tim Green and you have the best damn heavy psychedelic attack possible. Think of Blue Cheer meeting the exploits of High Rise or the heaviest of the Acid Mothers Temple if you need a frame of reference. While bands like the Hives and Strokes feel like they are trying to recapture the essence and power that garage bands can yield, Comets on Fire produce the real deal and don't even worry about acknowledging the pretenders. In less than thirty-seven minutes Field Recordings From the Sun sets new benchmarks that other bands will be trying to reach for years.
"Beneath the Ice Age" kicks the whole show off with a phenomenal bang. The beginning is deceiving of what lurks later on the record as a whole. An assemblage of prayer bowls, conga drums, layered bells and other sounds create a dense tripped-out soundscape worthy of a place between tracks on a Six Organs album. Then, right at the three-minute mark all hell breaks loose and nothing on the album (or in your head) remains the same from that point on. Sounds assault the listener from all angles - loud and bombastic, as if the instruments themselves were preparing to give up or explode from the pressure. It may not sound like it, but this is good stuff and just what you were looking for to kick your sorry ass back into reality.
Up next is "Return to Heaven". The initial fuzz bass kick is solid and it combines with the drums to form a wholly solid foundation to let the core band rock around. Of the album's five songs, this one has the strongest vibe of being from a completely different era. I can't quite finger it, but some late '60's acid flight is most likely where it's coming from. Ben Chasny kicks off "The Unicorn" with a burst of acoustic, Six Organs of Admittance-styled picking. Just as that groove gets going it is flattened into the ground by the wall of sound. Yes, the electric destruction fuzz guitar comes back to the rescue. It's a short tune, with the first portion standing up nicely in the Six Organs canon and the fuzzed out end leading nicely into all-out insanity that is "ESP". This number features the core Comets band alone and is quite over the top for only four instrumentalists going.
In the end, it's the ten-minute epic that is "The Black Poodle" that seals the deal. Feedback and poor electric connections start the song off slowly. The listener doesn't have to wait too long however as within moments the sonic assault starts right back up. Everyone in the studio lights this one up - the band, Ben Chasny, Tim Green, and some wigged out alto sax from Tim Daly. This is one heavy number.
It's been a long time since I have been so blown away by a band that I knew absolutely nothing about. As such, I feel like I need to continue laying all of this praise on this phenomenal record and simply hope that this much power leads to even more powerful records in the future. If the Comets on Fire have truly come to prepare us for the end, we would all be that much better for it. Their sounds and style are refreshing and drop-dead powerful and after one listen to Field Recordings From the Sun I'm sure you will agree.
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