Glaze of Cathexis "Desolation Spirituals"

Reviewed by Joseph Murphy

Ueda, Japan based duo Glaze of Cathexis have recently released this short EP (on their own Roving Sage Records) to garner some attention for their full length release, which has just been released a matter of days ago. As a musical partnership, Scott Atkinson and Matthew Comegys seem to have it worked out. Atkinson (of Brisbane) and Comegys (of Atlanta as well as Dr. Schluss' Garden of Psychedelic Obscurities blog) meld perfectly, writing well crafted garage tunes with a helping of blues and folk to keep it interesting. The "Desolation Spirituals EP" gives a balanced introduction to their current sound, alternating between Kinks-esque, harmony heavy rockers and more eclectic acid folk numbers. What strikes this listener most is the mix of these four tracks, which is sharp and pushed to the forefront: the guitars are full and rich, the drums snappy, and the vocals clear. It's unusual to hear such a direct mix in any of the many pools of the current psychedelic scene.

The title track - like "The Kashmir Effect" that appears later - is a driving, garage tune with impressive pop hooks that stick with you a while. With a gritty vocal take, "Desolation Spirituals" is the most raucous of the four cuts. But "Silver Lad" takes a different spin on the aesthetic, channeling a lighter and more playful tone. Overall, the EP is well balanced, split, in a way, between two sides of the musicians, who never allow one to occlude the other.

"All-Free," the closing track, is a collage piece, recollecting 70s psych heavy hitters by using free form guitars and rhythm to back a spoken word piece. It's an interesting closer for the EP that leaves listeners wondering where Glaze of Cathexis is heading.

It's becoming a bit of a trope in the genre, but perhaps with the internationalism of Glaze of Cathexis the two will be able to achieve their lofty goals of finding "the core ideal behind our daily rat race" and "connect to a global audience with their transcendent music and vision."

"Desolation Spirituals EP" is available at a name your price cost on the band's Bandcamp page, while the full length "The Amorphous Infinity" can be had through the same link for a mere $2.