(2023) Bardo Pond - No Hashish, No Change Money, No Saki Saki  


Review:
Philadelphia psych stalwarts Bardo Pond issued several cassettes in the early 1990s before releasing their proper debut full-length, Bufo Alvarius, and reaching greater exposure with several albums on Matador Records. No Hashish, No Change Money, No Saki Saki first appeared as a self-distributed tape in 1993, then later as a remastered CD-R, and finally as a double LP on Three Lobed Recordings in 2023. Largely recorded at the band's Lemur House living space/recording studio, with a WKDU radio appearance and two live recordings among the track listing, No Hashish is a sprawling set of raw, rambling, blown-out jams strung along by Isobel Sollenberger's aching, detached vocals. While their later efforts would apply a degree of studio polish, sometimes letting the group's more melodic elements shine enough to resemble dream pop, this tape retains a straight-from-the-basement quality. The band essentially had their aesthetic down pat from the beginning, though, so even in this rough early state, their music was as freewheeling and bewildering as it would ever be. Starting with the caterwauling haze of "Hummingbird Mountain," the release elevates with the sweetly wistful "Sometimes Words" and the flute-laden, daydream-like "I Forgot." "Rupture" is the highest point, with Sollenberger's heavenly vocals peering through the stacks of smoldering guitars. The live "Candle Light" has a more raucous rhythm and almost metallic riffage, adding a spike of adrenaline. "Round and Round" is a turbulent, grainy-textured jam with more flute than vocals. Sort of a lost chapter in the band's history, No Hashish is a stunning trip back to where it all began. — allmusic


   


Track List:
01. Hummingbird Mountain
02. Earth and Sky
03. Sometimes Words
04. High Horse
05. I Forgot
06. Rupture
07. Candle Light
08. Amen
09. Transistor
10. Round and Round
11. Lag


Media Report:
Genre: post-rock, psychedelic rock
Country: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)


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