SVART RECORDS
23rd Mach 2015
Pombagira are a heavy sludge duo, who have produced an absolutely massive sound on a massive release. There’s an hour and a half of doomy psychedelic throbbing, wailing, shouting and noodling, spread over a baker’s dozen of lengthy tracks. The sound is excellent – where the levels drop to a sole guitar, the tone is resonant and real, sounding like the room it was recorded in; where the riffola is rolling, guitars have been recorded through many points to add a Phil Spector-type wall of sound, a rich and warm sound. Bass dominates here and the tone has a genuine presence. The fuzzed up massive distortion of the loud passages makes for a great mix with the clear quiet sections.
Pombagira dress the album up in a load of fluff about ritual, necromancy and meditation but the vocals just wash over me in another swathe of psychedelic colour. The sound, colour and sheer duration of the set makes this set mind-altering in a late sixties / early seventies way and Pombagira acknowledge this by teasing a snatch of Pink Floyd’s Set The Controls To The Heart Of The Sun. There is a good deal of connection to the Floyd’s early psychedelic wig-outs here and at times I thought I could hear the influence of Can too.
This is not an album of songs and tracks, it is a solid film-length immersive experience. You won’t come out whistling any tunes but you may find your mental state subtly altered. Oh, and your neighbours may have decided to move out….