"Planets Around The Sun have been exploring many inner and outer spaces inebriated with fluid acid folk/drone/psych improvisations. prior to this indefinite tour, they collected these recordings made in various barns, on boats and in bedrooms. an epic collection by these traveling wizards who are also part of the extended Cursillistas, Herbcraft, Tempera, White Light etc. family. 70 copies." sloow tapes
"...fantastic repeating gamelan-tone hypnotics and zoned female vocalese giving way to Godz-play-Jandek downer guitar blues. some of the guitar playing is as out as Matthew Valentine’s post-Takayanagi navigations of folk/blues but when the rest of the commune start hunching like Amon Duul it’ll have you reaching for your Siloah albums to make sense of the levels of brain-erasing boo that these heads bring to the table." volcanic tongue
"...fantastic repeating gamelan-tone hypnotics and zoned female vocalese giving way to Godz-play-Jandek downer guitar blues. some of the guitar playing is as out as Matthew Valentine’s post-Takayanagi navigations of folk/blues but when the rest of the commune start hunching like Amon Duul it’ll have you reaching for your Siloah albums to make sense of the levels of brain-erasing boo that these heads bring to the table." volcanic tongue
"Portland, Maine’s Matthew Lajoie is a man of many projects, and lately he has kept himself busy releasing and touring with Planets Around the Sun and his latest venture Brainshadows. ever since the dissolution of his principal group Cursillistas however, Lajoie’s main creative focus has been Herbcraft. this year Lajoie returns with two new releases of his signature psych-induced outsider folk. before the third proper Herbcraft record arrives this fall, a new limited edition tape comes next week to bridge the gap. Flowering contains ten fresh transmissions of opaque and somber yet delightfully ambitious and sprawling explorations. Flowering will be out July 9 on Julia Dream Recordings in an edition of 99 tapes. The new imprint has no website yet, but distribution will happen via Volcanic Tongue." nfop
"sacred basil is the trio of nicholas barker (tempera), matt lajoie (cursillistas) and jordan spencer (gorman) and their collective talents are lighting up the skies. "tuvan annex" starts of shimmering and peaceful but it's a total ruse. guitar lines get washed into an oscillating oblivion and everything gets bathed in a heavy dose of noise swash. it's like being stuck in a tornado, desperately searching for a way out. the shimmer returns but with full-on density and triumph. each shift feels in the zone. blissed guitars and electronics join together, siamese twins moving in perfect harmony. contemplative, sparsely used notes flicker like a lightbulb about to give up hoping to make one final impression before crossing the great divide. there's something almost heartbreaking about it all.
but those aren't the only paths being crossed ~ not at all. rickety, looping acoustic guitars thrum their way forward with barely-audible background beats and electronic backwash. it's like being lost when nobody wants to admit their mistake. it's unsettling but worthwhile as it finally comes together and everything gets sucked to the bottom in a massive, exquisite whirlpool of sound. love those collaborations." digitalis
