POCAHAUNTED - Beast That You Are

Since “Peyote Road” had genuinely let us down, we're happy to return (we're a bit masochistic, aren't we!) to the scene of the crime to check out in person what someone, somewhere in the depths of the web, has been claiming for a while: namely, that this “Beast That You Are” (a limited-edition cassette, of course…) is a more worthwhile and inspired record.

How did that old saying go? Trust is good, not trusting is better. But, to be honest, we have to admit that Bethany and Amanda try a bit harder here, giving the impression, in a few extremely rare moments, that they might actually pull it off, only to throw in the towel a second later. I also get the feeling the two of them are trying to justify themselves to those crazy people who had the nerve to shell out money to bring the previous rip-off into their homes… But it's an effort made with the handbrake on. Sterile, and once again, going nowhere.

“Beast That You Are” thus manages to make us only slightly less angry, serving up two more extremely long tracks in which the two girls ramble psychedelically, free and dazed. On side A, then, we get a listless acoustic strumming, crisscrossing voices echoing from who knows what artificial paradise, a few minimal variations (like: "let's pretend that…" – "I told you it was better to mind your own business!") and the odd flash of accidental uncertainty. In the end, it almost sounds like listening to Dissolve (!!!) in a "degraded" and rural version (!?!). A con job, to put it plainly.

Finally, with side B (which documents a jam recorded live during a show shared with Mouthus and Yellow Swans) we manage to breathe a sigh of relief. Carrying the hypnotic mood of the first half into a darker dimension, the long mantra gradually turns into a delirious (and exhausting!) acid conclave, with those airy sax flourishes that delight us so much.

Small delight. For those who settle for less (and don't always enjoy it…).

Ride the wave of great music

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28/03/2008