the correct ritual c90
[2009, bells hill]

culling once again from the newcastle area, mckeating's latest cassette offering is the solo venture of mike vest, from psych-rock groups bong, lobster priest and blue queen (all of which share one or more members).

fun fact: basilicas (proper spelling) are large, ornate cathedrals that have been given special ceremonial rites by the pope. so, super churches then.

side a's opener, invisible tarot, has a rad swaying drone, gently going in and out of audible range. hardly anything else will be added, just unsteady whirling tones, which are tiered nicely in both the (deep) background as well as tucked away just underneath vest's grand pendulum.

the distinguished presence of mike's guitar will take on a secondary role in down on the street, existing only in minimal chords (most of which are transpiring off in the distance) which will get turned into a fairly roundabout, but still welcomed, loop. the most noteworthy element here are competing loops of muddy tones that whirl and quiver, and intertwine.

i really wish that ever changing present was a lot longer than it is (less than three minutes), because i'm absolutely loving the slow, melodic guitar pattern, which will essentially be left to its own devices, save for a few stray drones, buried here and there.

now, mongular trails is as long as the last song should've been (seventeen minutes). bummer. this is good, too, though; firmly on the psychedelic side of the spectrum. the treatment (on top of the wah pedal) that mike applies to his guitar provides this with a dreamlike / underwater state. the bubbly tones of that will form a fantastic partnership with a cleaner guitar melody that's partially obfuscated by the other layers of sporadic guitar. during the first half he'll do his damnedest to keep things interesting by changing up the auxiliary guitar, vacillating between denser layering and scaled back clarity. that's well and good, but as trails reaches the midway point it really starts to take off, as that initial melody gets thrust into the forefront and now that i can hear the loop in its entirety, i'm completely entranced by it. even as it slips back into the track's depths it remains distinct, since all of the excess layers have been laid to rest, highlighting the terrific duo of wobbly wah and that brilliant piece of guitar.
in feel, air transforms to liquid runs rather parallel to mongular trails, retaining that submerged vibe, but it lacks the memorable sound of it (or any of the other tracks so far). i do dig the ambient soundscape that's been assembled, but the faster paced wah-addled soloing isn't really doing it for me, unfortunately.

the ten minutes of queened king will quickly right this ship on the strength of a killer combination of low droning sweeps (i'm liking the subtle shifts) and (somewhat) higher-pitched oscillations which are set against vest's casual guitar playing. that wah pedal is a lot more enjoyable when it's being used to warble his spaced out chords, thankfully, that's most often the case.

the a side will have ended up abruptly, but the opening minutes of the second side will explain why: the song hadn't quite run its course yet, so it'll linger (in the same fashion) for almost a minute and a half. curious. it's also worth mentioning that this side only has about twenty minutes worth of music on it, which is fine by me, an hour and a half can be a bit exhaustive (not to mention time consuming) for one tape.

tailored with eyes is one of the few less obviously guitar based tracks on the cassette, and it's a wonderful change of pace. this is all undulated howls and other electronic waves along with a fuzzy creep of drone. mesmerizing.
taking its sweet time in fading in to a noisily humming drone is the final song, dangamamama.. i think i got that right. it's joined in the early going by low-end vibrations for a bit, but they seem to dip out of audibility once the heavy, purposeful thuds of victor solana's (the din) drumming enters the picture. this will also bring in mike's guitar, though its tones are fighting to be heard through that oppressive droning noise. as solana's drumming gains in speed, a new high flying guitar drone swoops through as the dissonance starts to loosen its vice-like grip over everything. when the percussion drops back down to its previous rate, the guitar playing will become clearer as the noisy layer deteriorates into a fractured lurch. all in all, this played out as sort of an anti-jam jam... which i'm still trying to fully wrap my head around..

rad tape, for sure. what i enjoy the most about it is its damn near total disregard for dynamics. too often with drone or psychedelic music that incorporates melody, there's a tremendous amount of concern for track evolution. granted, that can be a lovely (and / or very necessary thing), but sometimes man, all i want to hear is a great fucking loop over and over without it being messed with all the time. that's pretty much what the theme of this tape is... uh, drug music would be another.

Ever Changing Present

good review!

shit review

thanks! and thanks :(

good and shit review, heh

let's compromise: "good review and shit".