Review: Abronia - Obsidian Visions/Shadowed Lands

Another day and bam!.. another album that hits right out of the blue and yet another that has left me almost speechless in admiration and appreciation....this is a bit special! Abronia is a band out of Portland (the Oregon one) and its six members have played in, and in some cases continue to play in, Eternal Tapestry, Ghost to Falco, Young Hunter, Million Brazilians, Evolutionary Jass Band and Deep Earth...that is some list. They also briefly counted Dewey Mahood (he of Eternal Tapestry and Plankton Wat) among the players. Those players are: Keelin Mayer (saxophone/Vocals), Benjamin Blake (Guitar), Andrew Endres (Lap Steel), Amir Amadi (Bass), Eric Crespo (Guitar/Backing Vocals), James Shaver (The Big Drum/Percussion/Melodica) and Rick Pedrosa (live - Pedal Steel). Musically, the band cite many touchstones: "Morricone Spaghetti Western soundtracks, spiritual free jazz, Tuareg guitar bands of the Sahara, drone metal, 70’s Krautrock, Ethiopiques, Glenn Branca, outlaw country, various tribal music, 60’s psychedelia, and maybe even a little 80’s goth" - if that doesn't get yer juices flowing, nothing will - but it's all aimed at transcendence which is a lofty ambition for any artist, depending of course on your own definition of transcendence...but more of that later. The whole project had a spiritual origin - Eric Crespo, and I'm quoting verbatim from the press blurb, "woke up one day during a solo-backpacking trip in the Utah desert with this image in his mind. He knew he had to form this band, but he knew more about what it would look like than what it would sound like.... There were some clues though based on what he saw in his head: There were saxophones, or at least one, and maybe some occasional melodica. There were big amps and guitars so it would be loud, at least sometimes. There was a lap steel or a pedal steel involved. And there wasn’t a drum set: just one giant drum–like the ones he used to see all the guys sitting around hitting at pow wows his mom would sometimes take him to as a kid" This scene setting does serve a purpose and one that becomes evident whilst listening to the album itself.

Right from the opening notes of 'The Great Divide', with the Morricone overtones and the desolate, sun-baked atmosphere, you pretty much know you are in the presence of greatness. The opening spaghetti western vibes and their conjurations of arid deserts give way to a brief cacophony of free jazz noise before settling down to something that captures the imagination and transports you....it still retains that Morricone twang but the tribalistic rhythm of the 'big drum' and the plaintive yearnings of the saxophone combine with some excellent guitar playing to produce something that is simply magical. There is more than a touch of Heroin In Tahiti in its slow burning soundscape building and 'death surf' stylings but...and this is a big but... it is more than that. The subtle melding of the instruments and the aforementioned musical touchstones make this quite simply one of the best things I've heard....ever! 'Shala' is another step in the band's quest for transcendence but this time the atmosphere is built on a different base. The addition of some ethereal vocals courtesy of Mayer and a bucolic melody that has that same otherwordly folk-y feel as Clannad but all transplanted into another western setting. It has a mystical, almost ritualistic, quality to it and is divine stuff indeed.

Side 2 opens with 'Smoke Fingers' and a lonely melodica drone that immediately imbues the track with a melancholic air that is only exacerbated with some ace sax from Mayer that veers between free jazz skronk and the more soulful. The rhythm and general vibe is still based firmly in the Morricone soundtrack arena with those same parched vistas but with an added experimental edge. 'Glass Butte Retribution' opens with the now familiar resonant guitar but this time around backed with a heavy, primal drum beat and dry drones. Mayer's vocals are more strident than those in 'Shala' but no less effective (indeed, overtones of Nico circa 'I'll be your mirror' can be detected). It is another lugubrious track that gradually builds into something altogether more dramatic, ending in an atavistic scream from Mayer. 'Waning Wand' brings things to a conclusion and is an intriguing mix of western soundtrack and folk...the basic structure, along with melody and vocals, is pure folk but all played with that same spaghetti styling as the previous tracks. At times the folk breaks to let in some deeply reverbed guitar and heavy drums. About two thirds of the way through, everything changes...the tempo and intensity is upped dramatically, more of that wonderful skronky sax is introduced and it all finishes in a flurry of percussion, guitar and sax...a deeply satisfying end to a pretty damn amazing album.

To say I enjoyed 'Obsidian Visions/Shadowed Lands' is an understatement....it is a magical album that defies categorisation and pigeon-holing, one that is based on spirituality and mysticism. At the beginning I mentioned that the aim was transcendence and I think they've achieved it...this album transcends..it transcends what we believe music to be - it takes music beyond 'nice sounds' and 'pretty melodies' and into a whole different sphere. This is music that can take you away into landscapes undiscovered...it takes the collective memories of plains dwelling tribes and gives them an almost physical presence among the living. In the same way that the hauntology of distinctly British artists such as The Caretaker or The Eccentronic Research Council, or indeed the same interpretation of collective memory by the Italian Occult Psychedelia bands, Abronia have channeled the ghosts and spirits of the past in a collection of songs that are quite simply stunning. Released on June 25th 'Obsidian Visions/Shadowed Lands' is released on vinyl by Water Wing Records and can be bought via the webshop here. A CD version is being released by Reverb Worship over here in the UK and Resurrection will be doing a tape version.