Six Organs Of Admittance - Luminous Night / other notes

Six Organs Of Admittance are a big hit in my eyes. Although they/he have calmed down from the earlier long form drones and psych fuzz fests to a more relaxed and contemplatative folk form, the music still has that wonderful haze surrounding it. The songs merge together in a smoke filled suite and use reverb and intimate acoustic recording to great effect.

The album follows on nicely from 2007's Shelter From The Ash, itself a minor masterpiece and one of the albums of that year, and sticks closely to a similar mood. This time, however, more attention has been given to increasing the sonic depth. The close of side one ends with a beautifully chaotic hiss and fuzz sitting just behind the sedate guitar work. The opening of side two uses processed percussion and subtle strings to decorate the folk mantra to alarming effect.

Definately an album worthy of repeated listens.


On an unrelated note my Christmas stocking was jam packed with musical nuggets this year. Not only did I get the above Six Organs LP but I ended up with a lovely double LP reissue of 'of Montreal's' Coquelicot: Asleep Amongst The Poppies, a 2LP reissue of two albums by The Band, The Fiery Furnaces debut, Animal Collective's first two albums in an excellent Fat Cat reissue and the complete works of Chopin who is probably my favourite composer for the piano.

Although it may seem at odds with the preceeding selection, Chopin created some of the most wonderful short pieces ever concieved. I would urge everyone to listen to the Op. 10 Etudes a few times through and the first Piano Sonata if only to hear the Funereal March followed by one of the most startling and (for the time) forward thinking movements in music.

Also a word for 'of Montreal', one of my favourite pop acts in a long time. If you have ever flirted with disco/pop/funk then you owe it to yourself to listen to 'Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?' and 'Skeletal Lamping'. If your tastes fall more in line with choppy changy psych pop nuggets, albiet overblow in concept, they you must hear anything from their first few albums. They have melodrama enacted onstage during their shows, and red ninjas dancing in the audience. Need I say more?