Subarachnoid Space/Bardo Pond - split 12" (Camera Obscura)

Subarachnoid Space - Play Nice CDR (self-released)

Bardo Pond - Vol. IV CDR (self-released)

Icebird - Takeda (self-released)

Subarachnoid Space and Bardo Pond share halves of this newly released 12" on Camera Obscura. Both bands offer sidelong trips into their mind-bending psych. Subarachnoid Space's "Tigris" abstractedly wanders until the drums and bass join in an unexpected few moments of rhythmic clarity, before dissolving back into abstraction. This gives way to a more solidly structured part, with guitar joining in this time. The track develops slowly over several hills and valleys, moving on quickly, leaving the listener wanting more. Among Subarachnoid's best! Bardo Pond's side, "Euphrates," starts out heavy and sludgy. Several minutes of classic Gibbons' brothers wankery later, the groove gives way to a lengthy, watery layering of treated slide guitar and noisy crackling, Isobel's vocals barely making their way in for the final minutes. A great pairing of two of American psychedelic rock's finest. Nice vinyl and artwork as well.

Subarachnoid Space's Play Nice CDR, sold on their recent tour to and from Terrastock 5, offers snippets, sketches and ideas recorded live or during practice. As will happen with this sort of collection of varied improvisations, the recording and song qualities vary from track to track. What you get is an honest and direct expression of a band willing to explore and follow ideas down strange paths. The longest song is only 6:15, and there are a couple songs around a minute long, so nothing is explored so far that it's tiresome, and nothing is epic enough to match Subarachnoid Space's better albums. Instead they present the listener with 10 samples of what they do, all of them enjoyable and several great.

A similarly minded CDR, Bardo Pond's Vol IV, is the fourth installment of their homemade CDR trips recorded at their Lemur House studio over the last year. This series has been constantly rewarding, giving fans plenty of the extended explorations that are kept (somewhat) in check on their official albums and make their live shows so rewarding. With every new volume, I've thought this, but this really is the best yet. "New Drunks" (originally released on a 7") is reworked here, expanded and given nearly 10 minutes to roam. "Narmada" is nearly 20 minutes long, and "K2" just over 16. They take their time and let the music work its way naturally into warm grooves, propelled by otherworldly tones and distorto-wah solos.

As the mysterious shaman behind Bardo Pond, I had high hopes for how spectacular a solo Clint Takeda release would be. I assumed his great sense of heavy, trippy bass would be the focus, but instead, it's mostly atmospheres and drones. A bird calling, an amp buzzing, some treated tones sweeping and pulsing. Gorgeous and understated, albeit without much to cling to. Upon further investigation, I found that this was a piece he put together to complement an installation he had for his sculptures, which I would assume resemble the strange beast drawings that are found on the Bardo Pond records, and on the cover of this CDR. On its own the single 24 minute track slows time, hypnotizes, and mesmerizes. Accompanying Clint's art, I imagine it creates a strange backdrop of creepy meditation, greatly accentuating the effect of his strange art.

sean hammond 2002 dec 13