White Dog Family Band – Escape the Mystery II

After semi-voluntarily taking myself through the horrifying experience of Resistance, White Dog’s last tape, this is assuredly a cheerier time, with Chris Jaax recruiting his wife and son to comprise the White Dog Family Band. The synths drone and are arguably sci-fi. The ricochets of voices get wrapped up in the lurching machine of the drone. The tape moves from one atmosphere quickly to the next—though this is all in the same galaxy—with our space pilot Magnus Jaax yelling unintelligible orders and singing what would sound like madness, if it were coming from anyone but a seven-year-old or Damo Suzuki. There’s plenty of slug and chug that battles for the rest of side A—an immense trip. Side B is filled with a number of the same samples and sounds, but rearranged—like watching this space trip over again, but from a different porthole, with the wisdom of Lee Perry chiming in. This is definitely one of Prairie Fire Tapes’ most accessible releases, if you’re ever looking to escape the all-too-usual realms of music. (Prairie Fire Tapes, prairiefiretapes.com) Taylor Burgess