The unfiltered energy created at Calvin Johnson’s Dub Narcotic Studio during the four days of the Catharsis In Crisis sessions, is magically on par with Old Time Relijun’s fabled and furious live performances. This album doesn’t particularly stand out from the rest of the Olympia, Washington rockers’ growing catalogue, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It is the third installment of the Lost Light Trilogy, and picks up exactly where the other two albums left off, with a forward march hurricane of myth and mysticism.
It’s obvious from the first opening jangles of melody and dissonance in “Indestructible Life!” that OTR is just out there to go nuts and have fun doing it. The raw grunts and grumbles of singer Arrington de Dionyso’s agitated voice mimic that of a traveling Baptist preacher (oh yeah….”old time relijun”.). This is a record you put on with the volume cranked up while your roommates are trying to get their homework done, or while wrestling the fiercest of alligators.
“Garden of Pomegranates” is this drugged out surf-rock instrumental which serves to reveal the hidden talents of all the musicians. “Veleno Mortale”, a voodoo-infested junk-disco experiment, is actually an Italian re-translation of an older tune, “Burial Mound” which appeared on their last LP, 2012. I guess it’s a self-referential confirmation that their trilogy concept isn’t total bullshit.
Heavy post-punk rhythms, which minimal staccato guitars compliment beautifully, are constantly clashing with the classically trained freak-outs of saxophonist Benjamin Hartman. A back and forth tug-of-war between the band members fighting for attention makes for an endlessly interesting listen. It’s this unfettered musicianship that paints them as a psycho-noise alter-ego outfit of the Talking Heads. And while most reviewers are likening de Dionyso’s vocals to that of Nick Cave or James Chance, I see a lot of young David Byrne in there too.
But while these comparisons seem necessary for the process of description, OTR is one of the most unique and clever bands touring around North America today. In fact, they’re currently on tour with Montreal’s own noise-quartet AIDS wolf.
