“American Dollar Bill – Keep Facing Sideways, You’re Too Hideous To Look At Face On,” by Keiji Haino and Sumac.
Bandcamp Link: American Dollar Bill – Keep Facing Sideways, You’re Too Hideous To Look At Face On
I first encountered Keiji Haino and one of his bands, Fushitsusha, during my great enthusiasm for Japanese culture in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their records were some of the most brutally overdriven guitar psych freakouts of all time.
The trio Sumac are modern heavy things. But heavy in an arty way, more like say, Swans or The Birthday Party, than Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden.
Listening to this album, one of whose tracks is actually named, “What have I Done? (I Was Reeling In Something White and I Became Able to do Anything I Made a Hole Imprisoned Time Within it Created Friction Stopped Listening to Warnings Ceased Fixing my Errors Made the Impossible Possible? Turned Sadness Into Joy) Pt. 1”, I am most reminded reminded of esoteric 1970s music like The Godz or MC-5, along with The Birthday Party and Swans.
Pounding rhythms, clouds of overdriven guitar, bass guitar that is more of a feeling than a key. All things I enjoy.
Indeed, there are some moments on the track, “I’m Over 137% A Love Junkie And Still It’s Not Enough Pt. 2”, where everything is so amazingly distorted as to be ecstatic.
Lucky I made it to work this morning, and didn’t just sit in the parking lot at the beach with the stereo turned up to 11 and this album on repeat.
#TodaysCommuteSoundtrack #Sumac #KeijiHaino #AmericanDollarBillKeepFacingSidewaysYoureTooHideousToLookAtFaceOn
