Tsurubami is yet another side project by the prolific
Acid Mothers Temple guitarist Makoto Kawabata, with
Temple bassist Hiroshi Higashi and drummer Emi Nobuko. This is a CD-R-only label, and the recording is way low-tech/and way lo-fi, but that doesn't keep it from being essential. Comprised of improvisational tracks, the first, "Hitsumyo O Gotoshite," recorded at the
Acid Mothers Temple studio, begins with a long, slow ambient interlude of shimmering guitars and glissando bass, elementally accompanied by percussion. Over half-an-hour in length, it opens up gradually, becoming more and more discordant and disjointed until it deconstructs itself into a wall of noise. The second offering recorded live is a mere 11 minutes and resembles the
Acid Mothers at their most far out. Here are squalling guitars, over-driven basses, feedback, and cacophonous noise. In the maelstrom, which is utter and total, shifting overtones and subtleties are rained on the listener with alarming frequency -- and they are heard whether the volume is high or low -- creating another layer of density to an already impossible textured quilt of color and amplitude. Highly recommended for fans of the band, and a strong caution to those who haven't encountered them before: Start elsewhere. ~ Thom Jurek