ALC16 #20: Bes by The Dwarfs of East Agouza

[Skinny]

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Bes by The Dwarfs of East Agouza

Been vibing to this a lot since it dropped. They're a supergroup of sorts, with the most well-known member here being bassist Alan Bishop of mischievous, globe-hopping psych-rockers Sun City Girls, and this album certainly recalls some of that band's best moments (and even harks back to arguably their best album, Torch of the Mystics, in its similar artwork). Basically the first half of this record is made up of scratchy, hypnotic, enjoyably ramshackle jams that take various motifs from North African music but instill them with a Kosmische pulse. It manages to feel very free and yet very disciplined at the same time, concentrating on upbeat, accessible rhythms, but underscoring them with muscular basslines that anchor everything. The real joy here is in the guitar-playing, which is agile and occasionally fraught, calling to mind early Wire if they were tripping on acid. Then the second half of the record just jumps off a cliff into a Tangerine Dream-esque ambient puddle. Of course. Well worth checking out.

You can stream it on their Bandcamp, so do that if you want.
_________________
2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.