SOLIS
mymwly0031
2005
2nd release following debut on Foxglove. More bone less meat less muscle more sinew fewer thoughts less synaps some time less space.
Review by Tony Dale: "'Solis' is the second release from Alligator Crystal Moth, the tape exchange duo of Michael Donnelly (Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood, Terracid, et al) and Brad Rose (The North Sea, The Golden Oaks, Digitalis Recordings supremo), following the 'Magic Swamp Kingdom' CD-R on Foxglove a while back. Googling on the name suggests the alternate search "Alligator Crystal Meth", but based on the music herein, a giant crystal hookah is probably a more applicable image. 'Can of Words' is a hazy morning stroll through a Moroccan Souk, as produce stalls unfold like exotic flowers amid the tendrils of kif smoke. Quite who is playing what is not clear, but it all beautifully atmospheric with loosely adhering percussion and stringed objects engaged in deep conversation (as is the whole CD, really). 'Searching for Atlantis' is drone rock par excellence, a rare crystal clarification of the surface of the Bardo Pond via dark guitar glissandi and drum lifeforms playing intuitively off each other. 'Hallowed Ground Beneath My Feet' is a classic MYMWLY rain forest trek; acoustic spaces created by flute and guitar and percussion invaded by jagged electric creatures. 'Fraternizing with the Enemy' has an Indonesian feel, as well as playing with things modal and Middle-Eastern. 'Cheap Food for Secrets', a more lengthy piece, is a near free rumination played on many things drummed and plucked – travelling from chaos to clarity in a way that is emblematic of the work of both artists involved. 'Waking the Ecclesiastics' is pure tribal-hippie freakdom after the fashion of Amon Düül the First with (someone's) vaguely disturbing vocals as a real standout point. It sounds like the nausea that precedes vomiting on Ibogaine (but in a good way). Finally 'Ribs Make Walls' (the title reminding me of an ossuary chapel I saw in Portugal once) imagines life as a particle of matter attached to the side of a temple bell – giant resonance becoming the entirety of existence. Another extraordinary release on this label and deserving of a wider audience than it will probably reach via the CD-R label underground."
