Review: Head of Wantastiquet / Dire Wolves - Split CS

New from Pome Pome Tones comes a split cassette release from 2 of the most eclectic, creative forces in left-field music: Head Of Wantastiguet is Paul LaBrecque’s (Sunburned Hand of the Man, Astral Blessing) solo recording guise. According to the PR release "The music is a thoroughly Modern/NOW take on the early minimalist experiments of John Cale’s Sun Blindness tapes, projected through a prism that refracts into hallucinatory images of Andrew Wyeth and Caspar Friedrich, the temporal finality of Altamont and Kenneth Anger, the bare feet grounded to the soil of Träd Gräs och Stenar, and the beautiful desolation of Doc Boggs’ early 20th century Appalachian holler." Dire Wolves, formed in 2008, are brainchild of Jeffrey Alexander (Black Forest/Black Sea, Jackie-O Motherfucker, The Iditarod) who produce some stunning experimental, freeform psychedelia, drawing inspiration from folk and krautrock. Bearing in mind the rich musical heritage of these guys, one would expect something magical......you won't be disappointed!

Composed of one long track per side, this cassette release is of the highest quality; full of atmosphere, texture and flecked with genius. The Head of Wantastiquet track, 'The Head Of The Sphinx Will Never Become A Lion' is an exquisite experimental track, laden with drones and ethnic instrumentation. It conveys a sense of calm without being soporific, but it is way more than that - it has an easy flow, moving from the music of the bazaar to throbbing drones with some quasi-tribal drums. It is a difficult track to quantify, there is so much going on within it but it doesn't sound cluttered or cramped, indeed the feel the listener has is one of space and freedom....all in all a pretty damned good 25 minutes!

The Dire Wolves track, 'Floating Flower On The Silver River Of Truth / Two Flutes' has a bucolic atmosphere, in much the same vein as some of Evening Fires more Appalachian based psych. The languid guitar and violin sound almost melancholic at times, especially in conjunction with the muted freeform vocals in the background. At times it reminded me of some of Godspeed! You Black Emperor's more introspective moments in it's slow build of strings and guitar. Anyone who has some of Dire Wolves earlier recordings ('Jams and the Giant Peace', 'The Creator Has a Faster Van') will know that the Dire Wolves, when they get going, are capable of producing some awesome sounds from the guitar, and as this track progresses it evolves into more of a jam session, with some fantastic psych guitar echoing around the speakers. At about the eleven minute mark, it all changes, becoming a more experimental track. Dissonant stabs of strings mutate into drones and the mood once again shifts, this time into one of pastoral relaxation. The 'second' half of the track ('Two Flutes') begins in a similar laid back vein, shimmering guitar and some dreamy, distant vocals. As the track moves on, the music becomes more abstract and the vocals more strident but still maintaining a distance. More in keeping with some of the Jackie-O Motherfucker material.

I must admit I was initially thrown by this split, as mentioned the only Dire Wolves I knew were more jam based...but once I got my head round this I fell in love with this release..both LaBrecque and Alexander have highly impressive back catalogues, and this release will only add to those. A brace of experimental tunes that are both challenging and beautiful. If this ever gets a vinyl release I will move mountains to get it! The cassette can be purchased/streamed from the Jeffrey Alexander Bandcamp page. The cassette is released on 1st February, and can also be ordered via Discogs.