Crystalized Movements - This Wideness Comes

What the hell am I going to say about this?  I am not worthy to describe it accurately, but I will try anyway.  Crystalized Movements was the first in a long succession of bands led by underground psychedelic guitar icon Wayne Rogers. Eric Arn (of Primordial Undermind, and an underground guitar icon in his own right) played second guitar in earlier lineups of Crystalized Movements.  Prior to releasing This Wideness Comes in 1990, Arn was replaced by longtime Rogers collaborator and partner Kate Biggar.  The rest, as they say, is history.  

Most songs start out as melodic psychedelic rock, dive into one or more heavy freak-out rabbit holes, and occasionally splash around in the quicksand of Sonic Youth style noise.  Like I said, I cannot describe this accurately.  Take my word for it, this record is pure joy.  

I have never seen this album in any of the usual blog circles.  Why not? I would say that This Wideness Comes set the tone for the next eighteen years (and counting) of Rogers-Biggar creations.  After one more Crystallized Movements LP (Revelations From Pandemonium, 1992) the pair continued to expand their mind-altering vision of rock music in Vermonster, Bongloads of Righteous Boo, Magic Hour, and - currently - Major Stars.  

For fans of Twisted Village, Forced Exposure, rock music, and w33d.

the kitchen's out of sugar

Cul de Sac - China Gate

Closing out my posts for this weekend, here is my favorite album from Boston's Cul de Sac.  Except for the intro and outro tracks and the occasional found-sound voice sample, it's a completely instrumental album.  

Cul de Sac appear to draw inspiration from several musical touchstones: raga, krautrock, psychedelic, free jazz, prog, surf, noise, electronic, and probably other stuff that I'm even less qualified to fake my way around discussing. 

If you like China Gate, don't stop here.  Cul de Sac have several great records, including a studio collaboration with John Fahey and a two-disc live collection from a intercontinental tour with Damo Suzuki.  

doldrums

Primordial Undermind - Yet More Wonders of the Invisible World

Most fans of the Twisted Village and Ptolemic Terrascope varieties of psychedlic rock are well aware of Wayne Rogers' and Kate Biggar's musical travels from Crystallized Movements to Magic Hour and, presently, Major Stars.  The truly obsessive have also been following Eric Arn, who preceded Kate as Crystallized Movements' second guitarist, and who currently leads a nomadic and itinerant band called Primordial Undermind.  

This was Primordial Undermind's first LP, released in 1995.  Most tracks are fuzzy psych with a melodic, poppy bent and the occasional nod to eastern styles.  Mixed among these are a few moments of psychedlic noise freakout bliss - the proverbial money shot for folks like me who were curious to hear what "that other Crystallized Movements dude" was creating.