southern records

Song of The Week: Current 93 - 'Invocation Of Almost'

After receiving such critical acclaim for 'Black Ships Ate The Sky, an album which many deem to be the greatest in the Current 93 canon, one question which many may be asking is, how can they possibly top that? Well, the answer is simple, listen to Current 93's brand new album Aleph At Hallucinatory Mountain for it is a record of great magnitude which in many ways can be seen as a continuation of Black Ships as it reaches the same levels of intensity. Not only that but on Aleph..., Current 93 explore the deeper recesses of doom and psychedelic rock, once again marking their continuing evolution as a band.

The best example of this is on the album's opener "Invocation Of Almost" which is our song of the week this week. It opens with the eerie line "Almost in the Beginning was a Murderer" supported by a gradual build up of electronic drones and fuzzy guitars before exploding into a cacophony of sound, this sends a chill down my spine every time. The cluster of guitars continue over a Kraut-esque drum beat throughout with David Tibet's passionate vocals as evocative as ever.

David Tibet has more than proved his hallowed status as one of the most important figures of underground music in the last 25 years and this in my opinion is cemented with this release. Not many others can bring such a wonderful array of people to contribute to the recordings. Previous records have seen the likes of Ben Chasney (Six Organs of Admittance) and Shirley Collins making an appearance. Aleph...also boasts a stellar line-up of contributors including; Grammy award-winning genius Rickie Lee Jones, the beautiful Hush Arbor's Keith Wood, world famous porn-star (and winner of the Best Three Way Sex Scene and Best Group Scene at the Adult Video Network awards) Sasha Grey, guitar-hero James Blackshaw, Cyclobe and Coil's Ossian Brown, NYC legend Matt Sweeney (ZWAN, Neil Diamond, Superwolf), extraordinary percussionist supreme Alex Neilson (Red Krayola, Trembling Bells, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), counter-culture guru William Breeze and heavenly cellist John Contreras (Marc Almond, Baby Dee).

Aleph At Hallucinatory Mountain is highly ambitious album but much more accessible than I believe most would expect and I hope that I have done the album the justice, nonetheless sit down in darkened room, listen to this track and experience it for yourself. If you get yours hands on the album (which you can by purchasing from the Southern webshop) then I would strongly recommend spending some time with it, as it intensifies on every listen.

-- Lauren Barley Southern Records