Post by Zapp Brannigan on Feb 22, 2011 22:47:27 GMT -5
www.lifessweetbreath.com/reviews/albums/37-ii.html
The Pyschic Paramount - II
[No Quarter, 2011]
84%
From the ashes of Laddio Bolocko rose The Psychic Paramount in 2005 with their debut, Gamelan Into the Mink Supernatural. A short and concise noise rock assault on all the senses. A very cathartic and fulfilling album that doesn't overstay its welcome and fry out the nerves and senses of the listener. Space rock at its noisiest, noise rock with a very surprising rhythm. A combination of sounds that one doesn't expect, but nevertheless impresses.
Fast-forward six years and we finally have the band's second album, appropriately titled II. The signature sound of the band is still intact, but the production of the new album creates an almost completely different atmosphere. On the previous album, the listener was grabbed by the lapels and shook into submission by loud and rip-roarious guitar playing of Drew St. Ivany, and the fast pounding groove of bass player Ben Armstrong and drummer Jeff Conaway. On II, there is a lot open space for the band (and the listener) to breathe. With the exception of the track “RW”, the entire album flows perfectly into one another. One could say that “Intro/SP” and “DDB” are part one of the album. “N5”, “N6”, “Isolated”, and “N5 Coda” are part two, and “RW” simply serves as the noisy intermission. There is no leaving to get refreshments here. With all of these parts together, we get a first-hand listen of the evolution of the band. On Gamelan we heard just snippets of some kraut-rock influences that the band exuded, but now they comfortably wear them on their sleeves.
The album as a whole conjures up thoughts of Can jams of the post-Damo Suzuki era, where it was just instrumental madness on stage and in the studio. While The Psychic Paramount's compositions are nowhere near in length of the spontaneous improvisations of Can that would stretch out 30 to 40 minutes at a time, the noisy yet absolutely groovy sounds from the mid ‘70s are shown to be alive and well in 2011. Instead of Berlin, they are found nestled in the New York neighborhood of East Village.
In this day and age of the internet, six years between albums seems like an eternity. Many albums are listened to, loved and praised, and then pushed aside for the next new thing as quickly as they were released. Sometimes fans lose interest, or straight up forget about a band. But with an album like Gamelan, fans were willing to wait an eternity for a band like The Psychic Paramount, and the band rewarded them quite nicely with this new album. Let's just hope that we don't have to wait too long for their third.
-Jordan Leman, February 22, 2011
The Pyschic Paramount - II
[No Quarter, 2011]
84%
From the ashes of Laddio Bolocko rose The Psychic Paramount in 2005 with their debut, Gamelan Into the Mink Supernatural. A short and concise noise rock assault on all the senses. A very cathartic and fulfilling album that doesn't overstay its welcome and fry out the nerves and senses of the listener. Space rock at its noisiest, noise rock with a very surprising rhythm. A combination of sounds that one doesn't expect, but nevertheless impresses.
Fast-forward six years and we finally have the band's second album, appropriately titled II. The signature sound of the band is still intact, but the production of the new album creates an almost completely different atmosphere. On the previous album, the listener was grabbed by the lapels and shook into submission by loud and rip-roarious guitar playing of Drew St. Ivany, and the fast pounding groove of bass player Ben Armstrong and drummer Jeff Conaway. On II, there is a lot open space for the band (and the listener) to breathe. With the exception of the track “RW”, the entire album flows perfectly into one another. One could say that “Intro/SP” and “DDB” are part one of the album. “N5”, “N6”, “Isolated”, and “N5 Coda” are part two, and “RW” simply serves as the noisy intermission. There is no leaving to get refreshments here. With all of these parts together, we get a first-hand listen of the evolution of the band. On Gamelan we heard just snippets of some kraut-rock influences that the band exuded, but now they comfortably wear them on their sleeves.
The album as a whole conjures up thoughts of Can jams of the post-Damo Suzuki era, where it was just instrumental madness on stage and in the studio. While The Psychic Paramount's compositions are nowhere near in length of the spontaneous improvisations of Can that would stretch out 30 to 40 minutes at a time, the noisy yet absolutely groovy sounds from the mid ‘70s are shown to be alive and well in 2011. Instead of Berlin, they are found nestled in the New York neighborhood of East Village.
In this day and age of the internet, six years between albums seems like an eternity. Many albums are listened to, loved and praised, and then pushed aside for the next new thing as quickly as they were released. Sometimes fans lose interest, or straight up forget about a band. But with an album like Gamelan, fans were willing to wait an eternity for a band like The Psychic Paramount, and the band rewarded them quite nicely with this new album. Let's just hope that we don't have to wait too long for their third.
-Jordan Leman, February 22, 2011