Comets on Fire - Blue Cathedral

You might know of Comets on Fire through guitarists Ben Chasny's other project, Six Organs of Admittance, who you might know through Devendra Banhart's touring troop (who, of course, you know through Kevin Bacon). But coming into this CD with the reference points of Banhart and Six Organs..., you get thrown for a bit of a loop. Blue Cathedrals sounds like the soundtrack to a really bad trip: Completely demented vocals, guitars flailing madly about with every sort of distortion imaginable (and a few that aren't), and drums and bass lines crashing and breaking like hurricane waves on a Miami sunglasses hut; this isn't lofi folk. Combining Jazz, Metal, Eastern, and a healthy (or perhaps unhealthy) dose of Psychedelia, this isn't a CD to bring home to your mother. The 'mentalest' of all garage rock doesn't hold a candle to these songs. "The Bee and the Cracking Egg," "Whiskey River," and "The Antlers of the Midnight Sun" are nothing short of organized chaos. However, the fact that it is at least organized provides depth to the songs, saving them from plummeting into experimental noisecore. But in the midst of this lies the other side of Blue Cathedrals, the slow jams. "Pussy Foot the Duke" and "Wild Whiskey" take the intensity down a few notches, providing for brief moments of relief. Sounding like the quieter moments of Led Zepplin mixed with Pink Floyd, this is good old fashioned head bobbing music. So while mom and dad might not approve of this 'Comets on Fire' band your seeing, that doesn't make them any less appealing. In fact, maybe it makes them all the more. [www.cometsonfire.com]