Quick Hit: MOANING CITIES - "Moaning Cities"

I think perhaps I need to place a permanent office in the midst of the fertile stoner/psych/doom/retro rock country of Belgium. Many of the bands and albums I've highlighted in the past few months have come from that rich rock n' roll province. Today we add one more to the burgeoning list with Moaning Cities, a quartet of interesting blueprint. Operating with both guitar and sitar, backed magnificently by a female rhythm section, Moaning Cities manage to pack plenty of bite and ferocity around ragged edges and furious riffs, co-mingling with otherwise smooth, milky psychedelic power sojourns.

Moaning Cities have been around for 5 years, and have managed to release 3 albums, the first of which is showcased here today. This is because the first album has a more ragged stoner vibe, as does the second album, "Pathways Through the Sail", while the latest release, "D. Klein" is more soporific and spell-binding. The matchless melodies and mammoth music of Moaning Cities can catch one occasionally reminiscing in brief spurts on the fine desert rock of Kyuss. There is nothing direct, no homage, just a recognition that what you are listening to combines power, heart, and musical athleticism, the very best of what rock has to offer.

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Om - Advaitic Songs - Full Album Review

The sonic alchemy of Om is a contientous effort towards hosting an array of disastrous doomsday hymnals for the modern man with ancient sounds. This effort marks the first time Om has gone on record as a trio, Bass titan Al Cisneros and Grails skinsman Emil Amos flanked by tamburist and co-vocalist Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe from Lichens. The record is also flanked with 2 cellists, a violinist, flute, and tabla. The full rotation of Om's previous efforts is returned with another dose of drone-heavy ancient music. Evoking textures akin to the ancient isod (drone), the album plunges us into a trance-like pit of would-be archaic cult chants.

1. "Addis" - A lone and ominous female vocalist moans over haunting sahara-inspired bells drenched in reverb. Violin, piano, and guitar penetrate the background. Warm mesmerizing religious tones with cavernous depictions propel the piece.

2. "State of Non-Return"- Only making entrance as a mellowed guitar and piano tour, Al Cisneros snaps back in with a bassline reminiscient of his  Sleep years, a metallic beastly voyage of bass doom-dom winding up in a somber, brooding string arrangement.

3."Gethsamane"- A tune mirroring Grails persuasions towards big cavernous opuses, this tune plods on with a dark bass line connected with gregorian chantlike vocals and swirling violin all underpinned by a pulsing tambura. This culminates in a nasty octaved guitar line.

4."Sinai"- Wailing moaning overtone-rich drones pinch the intro to this tune before Cisneros' harrowing vocals arrive. The din echoes on until the tribal  pouncing drum kicks in, complete with a low tinged guitar line and piercing string snaps. The cello comes in and out with interplay a few times. 10 minutes of trance-like doom

5. " Haqq-Al Yaquin"- Might have the most demonic cello line I've ever heard on a doom record. Complete with plodding tabla and evocative quiet vocals with arabic tinged melody intertwined. A haunting closer complete with crafty folkish guitar shimmering over the trancelike rhythm.

Overall, the record speaks to a grooving ancient-sounding monolithic psycho-spiritual gloomfest. A triumph of Om's somber but monolithic intent to inflect atmosphere into their playing. A genuine return to form for the band, this album is a prime example of the power of orchestral instruments to inflect the most devious of sounds into the most prudently bellowing and electric music.

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