16th March 2010

Audio

Serena-Maneesh - Honeyjinx
S-M2: Abyss in B Minor (4AD)

While the rest of you motherfuckers are having several blasts down at SXSW, or totally getting CRAZAY on SPRING BREAK!, I’m still holdin’ it down here in Amherst.  Someone’s got to remain in reality. Too bad it had to be me. But luckily for you, me remaining in reality involves checking out sick new records, and telling you about them.  Serena-Maneesh’s new album moves back and forth from ambient krautrock in the vein of Can or Tangerine Dream, to frenetic psychedelic rock, leaving bits of sonic debris scattered all around it.  Tracks like “Melody For Jaana” are pretty accessible, and easier to sit back and take in, but I prefer the cuts with a bit more enegery. “Blow Yr Brains in the Morning Rain,” for instance, is a psychedelic rock cut with layer upon layer of fuzz, some excitingly off-beat drums, and heavily distorted guitar. And “Honeyjinx” contains the heaviest bass there is.  Each note is like an avalanch of sound.  It’s not common to hear this much power outside of black metal, but here it is.

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