The opening track to Land of Kush’s Egyptian Light Orchestra could, just possibly, be some kind of musical hell – combining a female Stephen Hawkins, a-tonal wails and vaguely Eastern musical ambience. It sits on the fine-line between surreal genius and an endurance test. Quite which side of the line it lies on remains to be seen! The answer lies in the sixteen minute track ‘scars’ which takes the psychedelic works of the doors and filters it through Eastern mythology and which is most certainly on the right side of the aforementioned line and which drags you bodily into the word of Land of Kush no matter how much you may resist the pull. Lyrically and musically fascinating ‘scars’ belongs to the best school of music which takes the listener out of themselves and on a journey; with hypnotic rhythms pummelling you and all manner of a-typical instrumentation creating a barrage that is part Eastern music, part extravagant musical number that demands a full theatrical performance (preferably complete with belly dancers!) to truly capture the magic of the experience.
After so rich a course as ‘scars’ the five minute-long ‘boo’ was always going to have to pull out the stops to captivate the audience in the same way, and thanks to creating a bass wall that sounds like an elephant it succeeds. Avant-garde in the manner of Glenn Branca or Sonic Youth on their strange, instrumental releases, there is very little in the way of a tune – rather than a jazz-inflected fusion of sounds that pull you towards the scary ‘tunnel visions’ a work of hallucinogenic beauty which is as influenced by Western folk as Eastern mysticism. ‘Fisherman’, on the other hand, is just terrifying – the intro to this fourteen minute beast is a jazz odyssey overlaid with a filth-spewing computer voice… really cool, but also stretching the bounds of credibility; it may be too much for some but the melody, when it arrives, is worth the wait and it’s possibly the best track musically thanks to a heavy groove underpinning the musical insanity. ‘Monogamy’ is easily the best track…or at least the most conventional and therefore the most instant, although I suspect that with an album as deep as this (and please bear in mind I’m on my fifth listen) favourite tracks may well change depending on your mood and the day in question. Laden with seductive melodies and innuendo-threatening vocals it’s a remarkable track that jams itself in your head and recalls the moments of beauty to be found on Jarboe’s solo works despite the tense atmosphere generated by the lengthy outro. Final track ‘like the thread of a spider’ is the perfect closer. Rising out of static it is more traditionally Eastern sounding than anything to this point. Crushing bass underpins the track which meanders for its four minute run time before fading into the dusty desert that spawned it.
It’s hard to know what to make of this release. I love it because it reminds me of all manner of excellent things and none of them all at once. Words such as unique are bandied about all too often, but this certainly is that – I can’t imagine anything that could or ever will sound like this appearing on my desk again and for that alone it deserves praise. It’s bold, innovative and daring – pushing buttons with the unnerving, tourette-laden attacks from the computer voice but then cleverly introducing melodies which demand to be heard to conclusion. This is not an easy record and is certainly it has a niche appeal, but for those who want to hear something entirely different to anything else in their collection ‘Monogamy’ is a gem that is worth your time.
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