AMT continue their winning streak with another highlight
D. Hamilton-Smith | Merrye Olde Engelond | 10/15/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"`Crystal Rainbow Pyramid Under The Stars' is the newest release from the always prolific Japanese semi-commune known as Acid Mothers Temple. It professes to be the "cleanest sounding" album yet and, as far as I've heard, that's correct. `Crystal Rainbow...' has the most balanced production I've heard on any AMT record. For a start, the drums are easily picked out, which makes a huge difference. So often in the past they have been reduced to faint thumps and distant hi-hats, which lessened the hypnotic power of the band just a little. The instrumentation herein is just as multi-layered and rich as before, only this time everything is more clearly audible. Everything sounds big, nothing sounds cluttered. And though existing fans will already be used to the freewheeling confusion inherent in any AMT listening session, the stronger production can only be a plus.
And onto the songs themselves. The opener `[...] Head Man...' is a thoroughly wild, slightly atonal jam that lasts a little over seven minutes and sees the new vocalist Kitigawa marking her place inside the Acid Mothers whirlwind. It's a solid track, and the relatively short length works in its favour. The remaining hour of `Crystal Rainbow...' is a mellower affair. The (almost) title track is a lush, triplet-time groove that hits all the bases with aplomb. It's not only one of the best Acid Mothers songs around, it's also the one I would use as an introduction to the band. Its opening old-school riff is rooted in conventional stoner fayre, although it's liberally sprinkled with spacey madness for the entire duration. Already the album is shaping up to be a pretty damn good Acid Mothers record, but what follows propels `Crystal Rainbow Pyramid Under The Stars' into the higher echelons of the band's achievements. `Electric Psilocybin Flashback' is in their space-folk vein, but it's a 40 minute multi-part monster. A half-Eastern, half-Mediterranean guitar riff drones through the opening few minutes, leading into some sublime saxophone lead lines and beyond. Only in the last ten minutes does this track drag slightly, but that's only a minor quibble. It's easily one of the most expansive and interesting pieces they've put their collective name to, and rounds off an excellent record. Acid Mothers Temple show no sign of slowing down, and when their output is reliably this good, there's no need for them to."
Are You Kidding Me?
Kevin Mclain | 08/08/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This has to be the best AMT album in recent memory. What a psych-rock masterpiece. Highly recommended."
Track Listings (3) - Disc #1
