Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Magical Power From Mars Vol. 1, 2, and 3
(Important)
The Acid Mothers Temple is relentless in their prolificacy. Their latest idea is to release three CDs, each with a twenty minute song presenting a unique side to the band. While that might seem like a great way to introduce those new to the Temple to the ways of Kawabata, it turns out these three sides to the band are more or less completely new ones! Or at least variations to existing ones. So if you're looking to get a grip on the full breadth of the Acid Mothers Temple, don't attempt to do so here.
Coming first in the series is "Ziggy Sitar Dust Raga" which introduces Indian instrumentation to the Acid Mothers psychedelic folk side. Of course, using a sitar in psychedelic folk music isn't the most excitingly original thing to do. Everyone from Idyll Swords to Donovan has done it and admittedly done it better than the Acid Mothers do on this song. However, the song does present a whole new area of sound the band could explore, which could prove very fertile (insert sarcastic comment). The song sounds great. The sitar part is tightly woven and meditative, and the tambura and synth provide depth and color to the sound. However, the song lasts twenty minutes, and there is only one significant change-up and few subtle dalliances, meaning those twenty minutes would probably work better as only ten. Still it's an interesting start to a tangent that fans of the band will want to check out.
The second part of the series, "Diamond Doggy Peggy," is the most rock and roll of the three, and it's one of the Acid Mothers most focused freak-outs to date. One of the highlights of the song is its interwoven riffs, one coming from Kawabata's guitar and the other from Cotton Casino's infectious giggle. There's really no better way to explain her singing on this song other than "giggle riffing," and it really works here—very free yet still very musical. While still technically being a "freak-out," the sound of the song is more heavy than insane. The guitar sound is of Sabbath-worth thickness, and, backed with intensely fast drumwork, it tends to follow a few main themes instead of branching out on every whim. While the sound is dense, the secondary instruments provide a textured background instead of distraction; it's easy to latch on to the main guitar part and let it guide you, which perhaps isn't so easy to do on many other of the band's freak-outs. For a heavy guitar freakout, it's pretty much close to perfect, outdoing Bardo Pond's entire catalog in 15 minutes.
The final part of the series, "Cosmic Funky Dolly," explores the band's more ambient side, however this song feels perhaps too clicheed. Built mostly from synths and electronics, it's a standard bliss-out of spacey sounds. Every sound here is processed, even the vocals, creating soft, gentle tones. The song is easy to listen to and goes by quickly, but others have done more with the spacey drone formula, and it only seems worthwhile if you're really into spacey drones.
Perhaps the best selling point to these singles is the 3-D lenticular UFO cover art. Luckily, however, all three volumes have the same artwork, so really you only need to buy one (those willing to break the law might even download all three and burn a great full length). Volume 1 offers a nice twist and Volume 3 will have its admirers, but my opinion would be to go for Volume 2, as it really is one of the band's most focused freak-outs, which is saying a lot.
|
