Ayahuasca

Pelt, who have recorded from the early 90's to the present day, have presented a number of faces. Towards the beginning it was more about electricity and noise: Brown Cyclopedia was closer to the Dead C .. or Sonic Youth minus the pretty melodies. These days they operate in a more contemplative mode: gongs, prayer bowls, strange Indian boxes with bellows. Ayahuasca, arguably, is the finest example of the band operating at the frontier of these two realms. The electric noise has given away to sheets of intricate, focused THRUM. Functioning seamlessly with these extended pieces are Old Time excursions worthy of John Fahey at his most mysterious and discursive (featuring the late Jack Rose on guitar and Mike Gangloff on banjo). Strangely, this highly regarded record is out-of-print. Pick up a used one while you still can (and petition VHF or - who knows? - Thrill Jockey to reissue it).

I doggedly sat through both painful cd's of this album, optimistically waiting for a glimmer of actual music to emerge. I was disappointed. Imagine the under-drone of bagpipes (without the music) together with the sound of some tortured cicadas and someone scraping their fingernail over a blackboard, and you've got the gist of the album.

absolutely solid. masterful drones, sometimes noisy and sometimes beautiful. mix in some takoma folk and this is a must have. sit back, relax, and become whatever this turns you into. also, save your cash.. vhf records just re-released it for 12 bucks.. so head over to their website and pick it up from the real deal.