Record Store Day just got a lot more exciting with this double vinyl package from Northern Spy documenting the first ever performance of J. Spaceman (Spacemen 3, Spiritualized) and Kid Millions (Oneida) as a duo.
If you’re expecting structured Spiritualized pop, you’re in the wrong place. Here, the two improvise the hell out of each other, with Spaceman taking an early free-form Krautrock approach to his guitar while Millions remains in an ecstatic jazz rumble. Things begin quietly with “Misha,” a sprawling minimalistic track recalling the likes of Terry Riley and Arnold Dreyblatt, though, where the epic “Han” starts out sounding a bit like Spacemen 3’s Dreamweapon, it quickly builds to a psychedelic freakout along the lines of Ash Ra Tempel and early Tangerine Dream. The 7” continues in the noisy vein with Spaceman attacking his guitar like a possessed Jimi Hendrix to Millions’ insistent Rashied Ali-like bashing. When it ends, you’re left with ringing ears, wishing that it would just go on forever.
Keep scrounging those pennies for April 19th and definitely make sure this one ends up in your pile. You’ll get your money’s worth listening to it over and over again, and that’s the point, isn’t it?
