Let me get this out of the way: Paik's second album, Corridors is hugely underrated, under-distributed, and criminally obscure. Using a wash of colors previously mastered by Kevin Shields, they repainted their harsh view of American psychedelic instrumental rock with surprising clarity. Two albums later, they finally find themselves on a label well suited to establishing them a proper fanbase, alongside such peers as Kinski, Surface of Eceyon, Cul de Sac, and Vocokesh.
In fact, last year Paik shared a CD with Kinski and Surface of Eceyon as part of the Music Fellowship's tryptych series. Their contribution offered two sides of the band - guitar rock mode, and crushing walls of sound/drone. Expanding upon these balancing tendencies, Satin Black toes the line between the two unlike any of their previous full lengths, while digging much deeper into the darker vibes they've always hinted at.
The opener "Jayne Field" could fit on any of their previous efforts. Its gradual build and jangly wall of sound climb to a roar, which quickly finds itself at the mercy of the rhythmic "Dirt for Driver." At this point in the record, the "pop" (using the term very, very loosely) songs end.
From here on, there are 3 side-long tracks, all breaking the 10-minute mark. Also from here on, the songs start to sound less like they came from a band that started in the same scene as Fuxa, Windy + Carl, and Transient Waves. Rather, they hint at the damaged and crushing sonics of a scene far heavier: drone metal's godfathers Earth and The Melvins (well, some of their records) come to mind, as do Sunn0))). "Stellar Meltdown in el Oceano" is nearly 15 minutes of distorted waves of crackling guitar chords, feedback, and cymbal washes. Not for the weary, that's for sure, but an exciting direction for the band.
This new album shows Paik once again gaining momentum, hopefully to record the equivalent of their masterpiece Corridors as filtered through the slightly fractured view they seem to be working to crack and distort more and more with each release.
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