Today’s Sounds: OM

Record:

Om, Advaitic Songs (Drag City)

 
Modern psych/trance duo Om has always been a coin toss. After witnessing them plunge Sala into complete musical nirvana a while back, I eagerly snatched up their entire catalogue. After a couple of missteps, their third effort — 2007’s Pilgrimage — finally ushered them into their rightful place in the underground avant metal scene, but still lacked the emotional impact they would later be known for.

After their two abysmally disappointing live records, Live Conference and Live in Jerusalem (which consisted of two selections taken from a five-hour show), I was convinced that the deeply spiritual, bass-heavy duo had indeed started losing their uh, religion. On the cusp of writing them off permanently, Grails/Holy Sons drummer Emil Amos stepped in for 2009’s God Is Good, and his trademark cinematic thrills and chills started edging their way closer to the forefront.

On their most recent effort, Advaitic Songs, they have indeed hit the mark, with musical statements that are once more concise and given plenty of breathing room. Extraneous noise and drones leap up in the mix as their stripped down arrangements of bass, vocals and drums receives orchestral polish with flutes, tabla and a string section, adding further flourish and depth to their trance-inducing bass riffs.

Being a bass/drums duo, Om main man Al Cisneros holds up his end of the bargain and actually manages to drive his bass tone to subterranean territory, previously held by King Tubby and Jah Wobble. Although actual composition comes into play over their slow, serpentine groove, it’s Cisneros’s Tibetan/Byzantine chanted vocals that remain the band’s true signature, albeit an acquired taste to say the least — Cisneros’s voice captures a note and holds onto it for dear life, but once you surrender to its will….

Guest vocalist Robert Lowe (Lichens, Singer) also deserves a mention here for his supportive role, which adds further drone to the calm and collected din.

Sure, “State of Non-Return” steps on the gas a bit and is sure to appeal to fans of Cisneros’s old band Sleep, but for the uninitiated, Om is hardly a “heavy” band in the classic sense. Their musical sights are set inward, on spiritual ascension and meditation, rather than crushing craniums. If you’re brave enough to take the first step out into the thin air, you’ll find Advaitic Songs to be Om’s highest act of levitation yet.
 

Track:

Rhye, “The Fall”

 
This has nothing to do with the Manchester band. It’s a gorgeous tune by a mysterious duo that’ll instantly transport your brain back to summer. The Fall EP is out next Tuesday on Innovative Leisure/Seven Four.
 
The Fall by Rhyemusic
 

Video:

Psychic Twin, “Gonna Get Her”

 
This Chicago electro-pop act works wonders with lo-fi aesthetics and string art in this video. The tune is available as a seven-inch single from Lefse Records.