OFF: BLANGA

[Jonathan Jarrett]

On Mon, Nov 12, 2007 at 07:20:37AM -0500, Stephen Swann typed out:

	<snip>

> Speaking of which I have two very strong recommendations for
> anyone who likes psychedelic/stoner/desert rock, or just plain
> BLANGA BALNGA BLANGA:
> 
> 1. Earthless - _Sonic Prayer_
> 
> This CD, even though it's from 2005, has been out of print, and
> used copies were going for between $150 and $225.  It must have
> either come available again, or someone found a warehouse full of
> them, because all of a sudden you can get it for normal CD prices
> again.  There are no vocals, and the CD is just 2 songs, 20 min
> each, of sheer freakin' unadulterated instrumental BLANGA.  You
> can check out a few minutes of one of them ("Flower Travellin'
> Man", clearly a reference to the great japanese psychedelics 
> the Flower Travellin' Band) on their Myspace page:
> http://www.myspace.com/earthless
> 
> 2. The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound - _Ekranoplan_
> 
> Ignore the weird band name, this album really kicks.  It has
> elements of Hawkwind, Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, and more recent
> influences like Kyuss, Fu Manchu and the Spiritual Beggars - and
> they openly claim Blue Oyster Cult as an influence.  The album
> isn't all BLANGA by any stetch, it also supports the theorem
> proposed by one of my college mates years ago that only really
> heavy bands know how to write good ballads.  ;-) You can check
> out a couple samples here, although I feel that they (perhaps
> unwisely) held back the best stuff:
> http://www.myspace.com/theassembleheadinsunburstsound

	I gave these both a listen in my own rather warped time, and 
mainly it makes me think that there is probably no band I have felt were 
getting a fair hearing through MySpace (though those playing either 
synthpop or really raw rock'n'roll seem to fare best). Given that, I may 
not have got the full impact here, but I thought rather more of the 
second one. Earthless's two samples are certainly blanga, if by that you 
mean improvisation round a single riff for minutes on end, and they're 
not the worst I've heard at that by any means, but they neither 
pummelled like early Hawkwind or enthralled like a really good jam band, 
just somewhere out there with quite a lot of company. I can see how it'd 
be a good trip in better quality or live in your face, mind.

	The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound entertained me rather more, 
partly because of the sense you highlight that they have more than one 
string to their bow but mainly because they sound more into what they're 
doing. Also, goddammit, the album's called _Ekranoplan_, what more could 
any good aero-geek wish for. So I may have to look into that... Thankyou 
for the suggestion.

	I suppose I should make one or two of my own. Aside from the 
obvious fact that the last two Clutch albums have been excellent, in 
fact the last three or four really, I assume everyone that's going to 
has followed up Doug Pearson's yesteryear recommendations to get into 
Comets on Fire? Because he was quite right. So I guess I'd suggest that, 
fer basic rock and roll I was lately pointed at Zeke 
(http://www.zekeyou.com/) and that seems to work, it's like Fu Manchu 
with more songs and less fuzz, but also more libido. And then for 
far-out space noise, well, yeah, I could use some pointers there 
actually. I did finally get hold of the second Krel album on Dead 
Earnest and was pleased with how solid it was, but good luck getting 
hold of a copy now... Anyway. I should be doing something else. Yours 
all,
     Jon


-- 
"When fortune wanes, of what assistance are quantities of elephants?"
	    (Juvaini, Afghan Muslim chronicler, c. 1206)
 Jon Jarrett, Fitzwilliam Museum, jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk