Book of Shadows
... And Then We All Woke Up (Ethedrone Muzac)
Reviewed by Audra Schroeder, Fri., May 4, 2007
Book of Shadows
... And Then We All Woke Up (Ethedrone Muzac)
Books of Shadows' latest full-length is one long, strange trip. Carlton Crutcher, formerly of ST 37, mans the keys, and wife Sharon's cosmic chants provide an ambient, bewitching drone. Often, the music is celestial, dusted with theremin, synth, and guitar, but mostly it's unsettling, and it's those supreme creep-outs that save Woke Up from mediocrity – and categorization. Largely improvised, the songs flow seamlessly, the title track sounding like the soundtrack for Altered States, while opener "Clouds in My Eyes" and closer "The Fallen Architecture of Pompei" float through space and time looking for the big bang. There are residual echoes of Fursaxa and Popol Vuh, but BOS has managed to create spiritual music that's difficult and engaging, sensual and androgynous, and it warrants repeat listens. (Book of Shadows trances out End of an Ear Saturday, May 12.)
