Moon Duo’s Mazes mixes elements of all of my late-night driving pleasures (Spacemen 3, Can, Eric’s Trip, V.U.’s “Sister Ray”) into a great listen, start-to-finish. The synth and guitar alternate between making the drone and taking the lead, hypnotizing you then smacking your face to get your attention back. The album kicks off with “Seer,” squiggly synths and a three-note synth pattern that carves out a groove for you and vocals that just haze about. Then this guitar solo comes out at you like a laser-pointer through a fog machine. Yee-owch!! The track (despite the ‘late-night’ stuff I mentioned) that got the most ear-play was the track “Mazes” with its cheery summer-crunch vibe. And, to me, “Run Around” sounds like a Bo Diddley number with Alan Vega on vocals, and “In the Sun,” with its heavily-reverbed vocals, sounds an awful lot like Rick White’s stuff. When I started listening to this album, I had several moments of, “Wow, I know this from somewhere…” Somebody’s created a Frankenstein’s monster of happy-psychedelic music. And if that’s not enough, the first run of this kick-ass album came with a bonus disc of remixes (plus one cover), and for the most part, it’s a pretty fine freebie. Standout remixes are the Psychic Ills’ remix of “Seer,” adding sitar and shruti to great effect, and brings in that eastern tinge that you felt was missing from the album version. Purling Hiss’s remix of “In The Sun” ups the hypno-qualities with the title repeating over itself and some stellar guitar work. There are three major parts which could be their own songs, but layer so well here, creating something that might surpass the original. And the reason I picked up this album: Gary War and his exclusive re-working of “When You Cut.” Completely gutting the song, manipulating individual tracks, then forcing it back together… It’s the oddest and the best track on this bonus disc. Find it before it’s gone. (Sacred Bones, www.sacredbonesrecords.com) Patrick Michalishyn
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989