November 03, 2018

Most of Lai is forgettable here. The Buddha jam on the other hand is really solid. They begin this with the usual overemphasis on the more digital sound, an as they get closer to Pilin, they get darker and more dissonant, to the point this sounds like it could be headed for a Nughuffer ending. The jam out of Pilin switches from a DNB jam to a dub jam to a downtempo jam. I think some of these themes are solid, and while none of it really makes me stand up and take notice, it’s solid enough to be labeled as a highlight. The Abraxas jam is neat right out of the gate. Magner has a nice array of synth leads, and Barber’s communication with him exists, which is always nice.

HAB is throwaway, and what’s worse is it’s very long and still throwaway. The B&C jam has a few really nice spots and has some Blissco prior to the Miracles transition that turns out beautiful. Middle Miracles jam is dark and forgettable. No jam into RLH is sacrilege. The jam in Run Like Hell develops into this weird, plodding march that just doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Barber and Brownstein seem perfectly in sync, but ultimately none of this is interesting to me at all. There’s a big Spraypaint tease right after the track switch from RLH to HAB. There’s also an Astronaut tease from Barber pre-HAB return. This whole jam is just the peak of mundanity for me, but some might like it? Home > RLH is not awful, not great.

Highlights: Buddha*, Pilin, B&C*