PLANKTON WAT - The Vanishing World

Already a guitarist with Eternal Tapestry and a collaborator of Jackie-O Motherfucker, Dewey Mahood returns his focus to his favorite creative outlet: Plankton Wat. With the help of Dustin Dybvig (drummer for Rose City Band), James Shaver (bassist in Abronia and Deep Earth) and Victor Nash (trumpeter for the Decemberists), the Portland musician continues his take on the rock canon of the 1970s, drawing on bands like Can and King Crimson, with a post-hippy attitude and an expansive psychedelic streak, handled with more than enough technical skill. Having left the Thrill Jockey chapter behind, Plankton Wat have scaled back their more adventurous nuances, focusing instead on sharper-edged sounds. There's still room, though, for introspective psych-prog moments, enriched by the incursions of an unusual, magnetic trumpet that swings emotionally between free jazz and post-rock.

Cleverly derivative, "The Vanishing World" rests on solid ground thanks to James Shaver's impeccable bass work, who shines alongside the rest of the band on the dazzling Allman Brothers meets Afro-funk escapade of "Kaldi", and takes sole command on the gorgeous "Hot Tropics", which I like to imagine as a potential demo from late-period Jimi Hendrix.

However monolithic it may seem, "The Vanishing World" moves nimbly from the ethereal textures of "Synesthesia" to the unusual blend of shoegaze and jam-rock on "Forgotten Dreams", where the vocals take center stage. And it's precisely this restless, relentless sequence of instrumental weaves that gives strength to a record fueled by the virtuosity of "Iberia" and by evocative passages that become the springboard for the elaborate sonic excursions of "Black Satin", in a tour de force that stays balanced between creativity and discipline.

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21/07/2026