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LP
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FTR 659LP
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"Recorded in Madison Wisconsin a year after In The River, the latest record from this amazing trio (Troy Schafer, Patrick Best, Mikel Dimmick) breaks a bit with Spiral Joy's drone-dominant tradition. There is a crackling, noise energy curtain surrounding much of the playing here that makes me remember the sound of the Richmond VA trio, Pelt, from whom Spiral Joy Band draw specific inspiration (as well as two members). The listed instruments are bowed gong, gong, bowed bowls, electric guitar, bowed materials amplified and acoustic, mouthpiece and effects, modified zither. So yeah, there is still a patchwork of drones at the heart of Elvehjem, but there is little in the way of uninterrupted flow. The music on this one is a cascade of sound events with a feel almost more in line with the less antic inventions of Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza than anything inside the 'rock' realm. But there has often been a certain rockist element lurking inside Spiral Joy Band's music (which supplanted the overt hayseed elements of their original iteration) and the direction and manner of their clangor here has the weight of rock rather than something more ephemeral. The two sides are presented as discreet pieces -- 'Shore' and 'Shine' -- but they run together seamlessly, both displaying surface pocks and tremors with a pride usually reserved for magic tricks. The drones are often created with a searing metallic edge, and their spiky protuberances brook no guff. If that ain't rock, at least attitudinally, I'll eat your fucking hat. In the meantime, Elvehjem, is a stone gas to listen to. And, by the way, the name is taken from a famous Wisconsin biochemist, and is not meant as a mean commentary on Orlando Bloom's obsession with the Dave Matthews Band. Although that would be warranted as well. Dig in!" --Byron Coley, 2023
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LP
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FTR 654LP
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"Spiral Joy Band are one of the descendants of Richmond VA's legendary musical juggernaut, Pelt. Active and mutating for nearly 20 years, the iteration of the Spiral Joy Band who recorded this session in Madison Wisconsin in 2011 was a trio. Troy Schafer, Patrick Best and Mikel Dimmick play an array of instruments -- violin, viola, harmonium -- to produce lush tapestries of the multiphonic drones for which they are known. I remember Pelt getting called 'The Hillbilly Theatre of Eternal Music' at the '98 Terrastock Festival in San Francisco. And indeed, that was a definite part of Pelt's sound at that point in their evolution. But since 2004, Spiral Joy Band have focused on and explored that particular niche with firm resolve. All versions of the group have reveled in the use of acoustic instruments to create tones to saturate the air with colors, while avoiding the technical shortcuts offered by electronics. The two sidelong pieces on In the River, reportedly inspired by Ka Baird (from Spires That in the Sunset Rise) and the Minneapolis string genius, Paul Metzger, are open-ended musical discussions about the existence of infinity, and how portions of infinite space might be corralled in ways that suggest continuously expanding horizons. Both the pieces are exquisite and function equally well as Furniture Music (as defined by Eric Satie) or active meditation fields, unveiling endless spools of drone in which a listener can wallow deeply. The closer you listen, the more you'll be able to hear. But even as a 'mere' soundtrack to the day, In the River offers the kind of textural beauty that makes everything feel better. Spiral Joy Band are sonic explorers dedicated to very specific corner of the universe, but it's one that contains the sort of magical powers we all need more than ever. If I were a doctor. I'd prescribe a daily dose of their music as an antidote to the rigors of reality as we know it. As Pink Floyd once suggested, 'Take Up Thy Stethscope and Walk.' Words to live by, eh?" --Byron Coley, 2022 Edition of 450.
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2LP
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UZU 002LP
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"Featuring two members of the most excellent Pelt, the Spiral Joy Band swells forth from Blacksburg, Virginia, with a follow up to their album Wake of the Dying Sun King on VHF Records. This double LP set features recordings from two eras of the Spiral Joy Band. The first is from 2005, the second 2007. A cacophony of gongs, bowls, bells, chimes, electronics, fiddle, bowed cymbals, esraj, harmonium, sruti and electronics played by Mikel Dimmik, Michael Gangloff, Amy Shea and Nathan Bowles, along with a guest or two, here and there. Pleasure Is The Headlight features 5 tracks in total spread over 4 sides. The first three being long trance inducing meditations recorded in Blacksburg and Ironto. The fourth side features unique recordings, the first is a solo wind chime performance recorded in a gift shop, featuring the murmur of confused patrons and what is likely some truly wonderful AM radio piped in over the store's stereo system. The second track is a slow hazy day at the beach, with gongs, seagulls, and the gentle roar of the ocean. Pressed on 180 gram black vinyl and limited to about 400 copies, this album comes in a custom gatefold jacket with letter pressed cover art and silk screened inside art."
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