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We don’t mind admitting to saying that - hand on heart - this release has provided the perfect aura backdrop soundtrack while we have been wiling the days away in the sun thumbing through the excellent read that Jim Derogatis’ ‘turn on your mind’ tome.
Of course the imprint 12 Apostles should be all too familiar to the most casual observers of these pages for their patronage of both the criminally underrated ROC and OLLO. Those expecting the same from latest additions to their envied roster - the Crystal Sun - think again. This mind blending cross genre pollinating epic styled interplanetary cosmic voyage ‘Landscape’ - their debut full length - could by the end of the 2008 prove to be one of the finds of the year.
A web of secrecy and mystery shrouds the Crystal Sun to the point that no band members name (s) are known, preferring to bask in anonymity, the band name was only agreed upon quite recently and even that came as a surprise to the label who only came into contact with the ’band’ following a friend of a friend communication to which much breathless swooning about how good they were was until the delivery of the finished article (’landscape’) the first actual physical evidence that the group did indeed exist - this in spite of unheeded requests for demo or session tapes.
The Crystal Sun (one assumes named after the ancient optical lens mistaken for decorative crystal stones) hail from London and beyond that the rail runs cold. Frankly if we didn’t know better we’d say that these dudes have access to a Tardis and have set the dials for the early 70’s in order to nick the master tapes from a lost, dispirited and largely unloved and unknown band from the era - such is the attention to vintage.
Freewheeling a sublime execution and inter blending of psychedelics, krautrock and progressive rock motifs whilst bathing the matrix with swells of ambient textures is disturbingly addictive as far as debut releases go that it could comfortably sit amid a record collections peppered liberally by outings by the likes of Amon Dull II, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and Van Der Graf Generator while being equally compliant and more than a match for the current crop of ambient / psyche / atmospheric outfits such as Orb, Porcupine Tree and Sigur Ros.
‘landscape’ flickers and flirts between opposing contrasts of light and dark mediums, sometimes menacingly oppressive and tender almost meditative when it chooses this being best exemplified by the two cuts ‘I am with you always, until the end of ages’ and the parting ’hummingbird’ - the former a serene rustic mantra assuming degrees of medieval tonality and a deep sense of mystery - the latter an abstractly layered slice creeping dread drone eerily bathed amid sparsely metallic fringed sound manipulations - certainly one of those check behind and under the sofa moments. This 9 track odyssey is as equally alluring listened to in one sitting or by visiting selected cuts and as far as debut releases go makes no mistake this is a goliath.
From the moment the introductory bird chorus’ of ‘Sunhoney’ dissipate only to be replaced by the hazy beguile of a flute floret itself latterly substituted by the emergence of a softly noodling sitar styled riff - your immediately transported to a place somehow and somewhere not now or here. From therein we’re off on a cosmic odyssey. The cumbersomely titled ’there is a field beyond all notions of good and evil - come meet me there’ may have dread aftershocks of Wakeman-isms however what manifests is an altering of trajectory towards a more space styled progressive montage replete with tailored looping kraut struts, archaic key corteges and warbling welts of fried electronic squiggles that sumptuously coalesce about 4.35 in to morph into a head expanding silkily reclining chilled psychedelicised flashback much reminiscent it has to be said of the Owl Service’s excellent covers EP ’Cine’. The same trick is revisited on ’not all those that wander are lost’ though this time the tempo is racked up several notches and into the mix are applied braids of crooked decadently retro Hammonds all framed by zig zagging fuzzed out riffs.
Title track ’landscape’ follows next, easily described as monastic, stately and monolithic - this hulking beauty just leaves you numbed. Absorbing the excesses of prog rock as was, it nods towards King Crimson as though being found tripping wildly after some bad acid experience and having hallucinatory images of harmonic colours blissing out to a strangely intoxicating and laid back sax induced collaborative suite crafted by Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre with Goblin behind the scenes pulling the strings though between you and me this is about as near to a nu age ‘whiter shade of pale‘ as you‘re ever likely to get - though be warned of the occasionally worrying appearance of ‘Brookside‘ motifs. Vague nods towards Mountain’s ’Nantucket sleigh ride’ emerge within the grooves of the effects laden kraut grinder ’’Orffyreus’ Wheel’ similarly too on the cosmically cruise controlled ’several kinds of darkness’ which finds itself seductively decorated in all manner of kick back struts and spirals of spacey lysergic - those much loving of the Fly’s Elefant outing ’put the needle down and fly’ will find much to swoon about as will fans of the Walking Seeds - in particular their ’Bad Orb’ cut ’peter’s trip’.
All said and done though ‘hallucinating angel’ provides the sets centrepiece, a hulking leviathan of a cut snaking watery voids that manages to change lanes between soul sucking parched drone swathes, twinkling orbit like intermissions and solace stricken pines - amid all this hides a blossoming beauty to match the grandeur, grace and glaciality of even Sigur Ros.
A transfixing release and with it an utterly essential listening experience.
www.12-apostles.com
www.myspace.com/thecrystalsun
Key tracks -
landscape
Hallucinating angel
Not all that wander are lost
Several kinds of darkness]
MARK BARTON
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