PRESS
Akron/Family | Review
This record goes into our best of the year pile.
10.02.06Meek Warrior
Young God Records
The pleasure and battering of the all-lovely Meek Warrior starts out on "Blessing Force". This song has a little bit of most of the Akron/Family flavor. Welcoming you to their sacred party, they introduce you to their blessing force. From simple, intense, mind tilting dissonance, to a lovely in the room sing along with claps, to a solid all together jam, into a break of Japan sounds that repeat until you're hypnotized, unaware, maybe unprepared if you don't know the band. This is all in the first 4 minutes of the disc. And then, get ready for your head to explode.
Prepare yourself, you have moments to breathe before the all lovely feedback squelch, Acid Mothers Temple interuptus which encompasses you and their entire beings. Feel it, relent, relent. Because into the darkness of a storm lies a wonderful simple piece that will soothe you as you continue your journey down the yellow brick road to Oz with these fellas. It's no longer a quiet then step on a pedal noise thing. Now it's done with complete structure and insanity. Balanced between a perfect tightrope walk of "What the fuck" to a perfect acoustic, ambient, singing song.
Only the words, gone completely beyond would give you a clue about the other pieces. If you only heard "Gone Beyond" you would only know them a touch, a simple elegant, beautiful touch, with excellent backup singing, wonderful acoustic guitar, crazy far off drum sounding. Always done with a super alchemic presence. A feeling that now is the time. A magical quality that so many bands and people strive for. That feeling that every moment counts and that everything matters. That all goes to tape. And, that almost all takes are keepers.
It sounds like you should listen to and see them now, because they may soon burn and crash. The press release speaks of the recording process and touring as if there was no time to sleep, compose, breathe, tour, play live and live yet they did it all. And, wonderfully. This record goes into our best of the year pile. This heartbreaking outpouring of stolen moments float on an ocean where waves trade directions like voices with creaking boat sounds and open nighttime dark skies where "space is love" and "love and space".
Creating space is more important than anything else on this disc. It's most evident in the drums, which are ancient and perfect(Hamid Drake drums on this CD). The wind sounds/instruments also melt your heart while bird sounds make you feel like there is a space inside this little CD. Like when you really heard Eno the first time. Making you feel. The freak out, ultra condensed, compressed noise sessions are nothing if not a reminder of the heavy, heavy world we live in. The hope lie in the compassion and love that pours out of these gentle fingers and mouths.
The ordering of this album is so wonderful. Crashing you against the rocks right away in the longest piece and then slowly bringing you into the middle. Into a life raft that floats so serenely on the open ocean under the moon. It's as if you know things are not alright but you don't care. That at any moment the sky may fall and all the frailties of existence will impede but for the moment that knowledge, that holding back of the chaos, of the unknown can make you giddy and high. That the magic of the eastern sounding singing will strike you with a "Lightning Bolt of Compassion." And you may want to put your head on the edge of the raft and touch the water or drop a tear.
Take communion, sing together, get high however you do it. Just push aside judgment and fall deep into the headlong trip that Meek Warrior offers. Let's go! Back to the chaos because we know that the bliss is inside. In deep darkness and slowly measured anti-structure you too can find salvation. Fight to ride, stay with it, focus on freedom, here it comes, here it comes. Here's why you ride. All parts are welcome and all will accompany you on your journey.
Akron/Family play at the Casbah on December 7th and you better get up off of your ass. Go get saved, at least in the moment. They can teach you. Can you handle it?