My Brother the Wind - I Wash My Soul in the Stream of Infinity. 2011 Sweden

While the debut album traded in on some familiar modern concepts of space rock, I Wash My Soul in the Stream of Infinity reaches further back into the recesses of time, and adds a dollop of atmospheric Krautrock to the proceedings. This is exactly what the band needed, thus providing the proper context for the inevitable psychedelic jamming parts. There's an art to setting the table before dinner, and it appears many bands just want to jump into a bucket of chicken, and call it a meal. While the first album appears to have been a spontaneous jam session, followed by the idea that maybe it would be worthwhile to edit and release - I Wash My Soul in the Stream of Infinity starts with the knowledge of why the band exists, and where it wants to go. It may be improvised, but this time it was "planned randomness". So a bit more thought was applied before starting, rather than just plug in, find a key to play in, and wail.  The atmosphere here is much more dense and exotic, including a propensity to look East, just as their forefathers had done 40 years prior. My Brother the Wind is bordering on the brilliant here, and one hopes they follow this path further to release something truly incredible. I think this album also benefited greatly from an expansion of the instrumental palette - including Hammond, Mellotron, acoustic guitar, percussion, and electric sitar. So while I have rated both these albums the same (for now that is), I Wash my Soul in the Stream of Infinity is near the top of the range while the debut is at the bottom. Let's see what happens next.

Ownership: CD: 2011 Transubstans

1/11/13 (new entry)