American Dollar Bill - Keep Facing Sideways, You're Too Hideous To Look At Face On cover

American Dollar Bill - Keep Facing Sideways, You're Too Hideous To Look At Face On

Released

Sumac is a project led by former ISIS guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, with bassist Brian Cook of Russian Circles and These Arms Are Snakes and drummer Nick Yacyshyn of Baptists. In 2017, they wandered into a Tokyo recording studio for a fully improvised encounter with Keiji Haino, which was eventually released as this CD. It’s one of the heaviest items in his catalog, in large part due to Yacyshyn’s thunderous, tribal and not at all free-sounding drumming. He anchors the music to the floor, allowing Turner, Cook and Haino to dig deep and crank out riff after riff, punching through the air with astonishing force as Haino sputters and growls his lyrics. There are only five pieces here, and only one of those is shorter than ten minutes; the opening title track runs nearly twenty, so strap in and take the ride.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Dragon’s Head cover

Dragon’s Head

Mary Halvorson
Jesup Wagon cover

Jesup Wagon

James Brandon Lewis, Red Lily Quintet
Bap-Tizum cover

Bap-Tizum

Art Ensemble of Chicago
Live at the East cover

Live at the East

Pharoah Sanders
New York, Fall 1974 cover

New York, Fall 1974

Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton cover

Anthony Braxton

Anthony Braxton
Ocean Bridges cover

Ocean Bridges

Damu the Fudgemunk, Raw Poetic, Archie Shepp