Bitchin Bajas – Water Rackets (Film Score) 7.5

                Bitchin Bajas makes patience an ally with this comfortable cloud of sound. I listened to it once. Then I listened to it again. Cooper Crane (the man behind this project) does an amazing thing with only a few sounds. You could call it drone, kosmic music, or baroque. All of those descriptions would be correct but would miss the enigmatic nature of the music. 

                This recording was created as a score to the remake of “Water Wrackets” a 1975 film. It starts off slowly, with a building drone. Cooper adds tiny details occurring right within the window of perception. “Water 2” starts off in roughly the same way but ends off with flourishes of baroque. A celebratory, quiet beat comes in and turns the entire thing into a cheerful, happy piece. Listen to “Water 2” with headphones as the panning becomes extremely enjoyable in this context (with regular speakers this effect would be somewhat lost).

                “Water 4” is the largest track on here in terms of sound. I’m reminded of some of Leyland Kirby’s approach to synthesizers. The sound is blown up to an epic scale. Again, the approach feels almost classical. For those who wonder where the Kosmic Music/Krautrock approach takes place (think Emeralds), that is the “Water 3” which contains a galloping bongo beat. On a personal note, my intense dislike of the bongo ended with this track.

                I think this album grows on you. After a few listens it really revels all the many secrets and influences. Give it a few listens. Listen to it before you go to bed. It is that kind of calming, meditative music.

Leyland Kirby – Intrigue & Stuff (Vol. 1) 8.2

                Leyland Kirby re-invents himself once again. The title “Intrigue & Stuff (Vol. 1) reminds you you’re still dealing with the same prankster who has run V/VM records for over a decade. While Leyland last released under his name with the enormous “Sadly, the Future is No Longer what it was” 3 disc set. Most of that 3-disc set was infinitely bleak unlike this nearly optimistic collection of songs. 

                “Video 2000” starts up the long EP. I’m amazed by this track. When I listen to it I hear a strange, hallucinatory rave-up. He puts a basic beat and lets the track go where it wants. Despite all the movements and changes in the sound it remains extremely positive for me. Parts of it remind me of Tones on Tail’s song “Rain” as it tries to come into focus unlike “Rain” though it never comes into focus. Shifts occur with alarming near disorientating regularly. Let this one carry you on it is easily the best of the six tracks. Play this one a lot.

                My other favorites are “Live for the Future, Long for the Past” and “Ruined Visions”. The former sounds massive, you can’t quite get the volume to be loud enough. For that track is the sound of something unimaginably massive. “Ruined Visions” takes a different tact. It ends on a tragic note, bringing to mind the best of Leyland’s previous work. 

                Since this is only the first of a 4-part EP series (I guess Leyland even does EPs on a grand scale) I’m pretty excited. This is perhaps my favorite EP I’ve heard in a long while.