For their second full-length collaboration, improvisational guitarists Tom Carter (Charalambides) and Pat Murano (No-Neck Blues Band) deliver an intense double LP comprised of four tracks clocking in at one side each.
Named after four of the five infernal rivers in Greek mythology, each expansive soundscape explores the darkest, most mysterious regions of musicality while retaining an individuality that clearly marks each session as distinct. Where “Phlegethon” meanders somewhere between Bardo Pond and the ambient works of Richard Pinhas, “Cocytus” attacks with Throbbing Gristle‘s subtle Heathen Earth brutality. “Styx” carefully balances the pulsing drones of Krautrock pioneers like Cluster, Harmonia and Faust with the forward-thinking spacerock of Hawkwind and Acid Mothers Temple. The closing “Acheron” recalls the Berlin school sound of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze with its seamless blend of guitars and electronics. It’s a whitewater rafting journey into psychedelic weirdness, where sound becomes scenery and the landscape is inverted.
To think that these sprawling tapestries of sonic magic were improvised, rather than highly composed, proves just how powerful Tom Carter and Pat Murano are as a team. Hopefully, they will assemble their energies again soon for an entirely new trip.
