Prepare yourself for a killer cosmic journey because Cloud Seeder who are comprised of Roger Kunkel, Dave Thompson and Steve Edberg, come out guns-a-blazing on their sophomore record. This is some bad ass psych rock that manages to coax the cobra from its basket on numerous moments throughout all 12-tracks. In that Shadow Part One opens the album with a blistering funky soul surfing jam that has so many cool things going on at the same time. Here the keyboards, the spoken sound sample, the organic fluidity of the playing, left me hoping it would go on forever. Maria on the Moon, is a beautiful moody piece that shows off Roger Kunkel’s trance inducing lyrical guitar playing. I love how the song spins down into a sonic haze as if we have lost the signal and are nearing interstellar space. Caprinae reminds this drug-addled listener of Pink Floyd’s, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Here Cloud Seeder have taken their production skills to the next level, making me believe it’s 1967 instead of 2020. Laughing Gas is the perfect song to play on some lonely stretch of New Mexico Highway situated between nothing and not much else. Here I am reminded of ex-Spacemen-3 blokes The Darkside and their song She Don’t Come. The playing is exceptional all around and once again for those who love psychedelic music the song stretches out into a menacing fury and never lets up (Vincent Price cackle and all). Buckminster begins with a jazzy riff and then morphs into a Bill Frisell/ Ginger Baker type jam, that is warped and unsettling and helps set the stage for the second half of the record.
Infectious Agent is a sinister pulsating jam that rips and snorts its way towards a fiery death. This is just simply too cool for school. 牛逼! Headcharge reminds me of a narcotic-informed jam from Torch of the Mystics by The Sun City Girls. Here Kunkel and crew let things unfurl over what feels like a long-lost soundtrack to a cult 60’s road movie. The Great Departure is a fascinating song that is cut up into several distinct sections that builds to a ferocious peak and then spins down into a unsettling off axis moan. The Absence of Small Fish bounces and chugs with a glorious sonic melange squeaking and squelching in the background. It’s as if we’ve tuned into some short wave radio broadcast that is only clear for a few minutes then gets inundated in a flood of white noise. This has transient random waves with announcements in spades. I love every little flourish, from the tiniest bleep and bloop to the wide open production to the exploratory nature of the music. The record closes with In that Shadow Part Two which provides a positive end to a record that dumps the listener out somewhere familiar yet unknown. Even though I loved the first album this record completely outshines that one on so many levels. The playing here is a joy to behold. The compositions are unique and filled with the unexpected which are nourishment for the body and soul. This is one of the finest musical statements I’ve heard this year.
P.S.
This record needs to be released on vinyl because the vibe of the music, the artwork, the whole package are deserving of it.(Get a kickstarter going boys!–ED)
by Jonathan Levitt-5/5 stars- December 8, 2020
