Also Rising

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In SubArachnoid Space's early days, back around the time of their 'Delicate Membrane' and 'Ether Or' CDs, their music floated like fragrant bong smoke. Guitars echoed and expanded to fill the space of a room, seeming to meander less by conscious choice than by an unexpected gust of wind or a sudden flurry of improv experimentation. Over the course of their next few albums, they relied on improvisation to play out their drifting psych drama, but their performance became more focused and tense.

Enter 'Also Rising' - the musical equivalent of a contraband cocktail. On SubArachnoid Space's latest and finest disc, the band injects their trademark hazy psychedelics with the heaviest dose yet of punishing guitar excess and nosebleed percussion blasts. The opener 'The Harsh Facts of Life' begins pleasantly enough with a nicely measured arrangement of reverb guitar and snappy, sprightly drum raps, but it devolves into a gooey (though still melodic) morass of chewy bass slaps and shrieking guitar. 'Deep End' also begins on a quiet note, opting for a contemplative atmosphere, only to grow in both speed and discord. The sole track that gazes back to SubArachnoid's past is 'Angel Food', a scintillating curtain of folksy feedback; the rest of the disc lurches forward like a PCP addict going out of his skull for his next fix.

'Also Rising' is the final step for SubArachnoid Space in breaking free of its old neo-hippie reputation. This newest offering shows that the band is opting for less "flower" and tearing ass to revel in "power".