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Reviews

ST 37 — Spaceage
(Black Widow BWR 020, 1998, CD)

by Dane Carlson, Published 1999-01-01

Spaceage Cover art

From somewhere between deep space and Austin, Texas comes ST 37. The band is Dave Cameron, Carlton Crutcher, Joel Crutcher, Cisco Ryder G, and Scott Telles. They remind me of Space Ritual era Hawkwind, using repetitive word-chants or rhythms to drag you off into strangeville. The result is a thick layer of sonics; swirling, whirling effects-laden guitar, strange sounds and synthesizers, leaving the drums and bass to step forward a carry the tune. Some have labeled this space rock — I’ll go along with that as this album is positively hallucinogenic at times. The band uses many different instruments and sounds (is that Godzilla I hear?) throughout the album. The album didn’t grab me until I had listened to it a few times. Until I realized I was constantly humming "Concrete Island" (like right now). This is well-crafted music — it sneaks up on you. And the lyrics are pretty strange too. Like other bands in this style “averted listening” proves useful, the less you listen the more you hear. Of the 13 songs here, five are covers, and even with so many cover songs the album still sounds cohesive — ST 37 has put their stamp on them. This album has lots of variety; the rock of "Concrete Island," the driving bass emerging from a wash of fuzzed guitar and odd voices on "Night Jetz," and the spoken word of "If Your Mind Expands Your Head Will Hurt." What a wild album this thing is! Outstanding.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 16, 1998 releases

Related artist(s): ST 37

More info
http://st37.bandcamp.com/album/spaceage

 

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