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Acid Mothers Reynols — Vol. 2
(Bandcamp Hive Mind Records, 2022, LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-10-26

Vol. 2 Cover art

The 2017 Acid Mothers Temple tour of South America gave the Japanese musical explorers a chance to collaborate with Argentinian group Reynols, and their studio sessions in November of that year resulted in an album released in 2020, called Vol. 1. Obviously, that title implied that there would be more to come, and here we have the next set, creatively titled Vol. 2. From the Acid Mothers side we have Makoto Kawabata (guitar, piano), Mitsuru Tabata (guitar, guitar synth), Hiroshi Higashi (synthesizer, theremin), Takashi “Wolf” Uchida (bass), and Nani Satoshima (drums); from Reynols there’s Anla Courtis (guitar), Miguel Tomasin (vocals, drums, piano, flute), Pacu Conlazo (percussion, horn, flute), and Roberto Conlazo (guitar). As with the first volume, this freely improvised music is in places much sparser than you might expect given the number of participants. The musicians allow space for each other and are much more interested in exploring textures than in showing off technique or simply making noise. An apt comparison would be with the kind of jamming that Pink Floyd did in their early days, or what came out of the early-70s German scene, like Can with Damo Suzuki. If you’re expecting concise song-based music, you’ll be sorely disappointed, but for those willing to let musicians roam freely, this is a successful set. With or without chemical enhancement, these four tracks take the listener places far beyond the bounds of normal into the depths of inner space. Aside from some free-floating sections, the drums and bass tend to find their way into loose grooves that weave a hypnotic spell, allowing the other instruments to layer on textures. “Antimatter-Sound Milkshake” is my favorite of these four tracks, as it hits the balance just right during its eleven and a half minutes. I don’t know if there will be a Vol. 3, but the way they’ve been going, I would welcome it.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Acid Mothers Temple, Makoto Kawabata, Reynols, Hiroshi Higashi, Anla Courtis

More info
http://acidmothersreynols.bandcamp.com/album/vol-2

 

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