Masters of (un) Reality

All the Saints
Fire on Corridor X
Killer Pimp Records



La Otracina
The Risk of Gravitation
Colour Sounds


It's not a well-kept secret that art reflects the psychology and zeitgeist of the times, for example Dram Stoker's Dracula, written not exclusively with the fear of the undead in mind, but in response to the influx of Eastern European immigrants flooding Victorian England. And as noted in a recent review on a box set released in it's honor, Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry films were more or less a commentary on the prevailing cloud of conservatism creeping across America. Could it be that the current crop of musicians creating earsplitting psych rock might very well be reacting to the insanity this world finds itself knee deep in on a daily basis as we crawl slowly out of one of the most tense decades in the history of the modern world?

Whatever the case, response or not, there are an increasing number of groups trying to find the perfect balance of chaos and beauty and while some get it right, others fail miserably. The two current subjects in this mini-experiment, All the Saints from Atlanta, Ga. and Brooklyn's La Otracina, are definitely the former.

While All the Saints is a bit new to this reviewer, I can easily say that I like what I hear, and I can understand the camaraderie between the southern 3 piece and the group they share a record label with, A Place to Bury Strangers. Like APTBS, All the Saints are not afraid to turn up the noise. Unlike APTBS's reliance on 80's distortion that make them sound almost like Jesus and Mary Chain on Wax Trax., the Hotlanta group leans more on tricks learned from late 80's and early 90's guitar lords like Moore and Mascis, even in some cases early Smashing Pumpkins, all the while pounding it out with a heaviness al a Blue Cheer or any other of the legions of stoned 60's loudies you can think of.

It's an interesting concoction, one that Killer Pimp Records seems to be gaining a good reputation for.

Brooklyn's La Otracina is a band that has been doing something very few bands attempt to these days, honing their craft from the ground up over the last few years, hell bent on creating a sound that is fierce yet sets them apart from the standard tag of "psych rock." Almost a year after their Holy Mountain release Tonal Ellipse of the One, amid lineup changes (including drummer Adam Kriney doing double duty as vocalist) and constant touring, the group has produced The Risk of Gravitation. While last year's LP saw the band visiting the universes of early 70's Pink Floyd, Amon Duul, and even modern day sound marauders like Boris, the band now seems to have taken on an even more extreme sound, infusing bits and pieces of Hawkwind and 70's pre-punkers Simply Saucer. At some points you can get morsels of early hardcore in their sound, fusing an urgency of Black Flag or the kind of stuff Touch and Go once released, but with a much more cosmic slant. The constant flow of material (18 releases since 2003, by their count) from La Otracina is a chart of the almost scary progress they have made in their time as a band. Their patient creative process has been paying off, and with this latest release it is quite fair to ask yourself what they will do next. With their production schedule moving at such a fast pace, you may not have to wait that long.




Listen:
La Otracina "Raze the Sky"
All The Saints "Fire on Corridor X"