Its extremely rare that I hear an album without having preconceived notions. Its even rarer that I am positively stunned by what I'm hearing. Acid folkster Damon McMahon stunned me today. With his blatently hallucinogenic and jangly, off kilter tunes (don't even think about assuming he sounds like Syd because its not that simple), he conjures spirits and levitates around metaphysical lyrics that always retain a sense of cohesion. Yes, there are a few cliches. Nearly infinite reverb and occasionally sitar-like guitar lines abound but I never find them annoying, possibly due to the structure of the record.
The first few songs are disturbed and effected folk tunes, after which he begins to experiment, alternating between psych-pop themes and spiritual feeling sounds that feel genuine but never over the top. There is also a subtle tribal element to the predominantly floor tom-based drumming that really suits my fancy.
Ultimately, I can't help but describe this as the best hypnagogic pop / folk record ever recorded... and possibly the only one. If that term doesn't fit your snooty criteria, just forget I called it that and download / buy the fucking record anyway. Everyone should own this one.
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