Pataphisical Freak Out MU!!

The first Acid Mothers Temple (AMT) album was closer to a solo recording by leader Kawabata Makoto, really – his attempt to create what he called “really extreme trip music,” it hurtles past in a muggy blur. Pataphisical Freak Out MU!! brings in members of the Acid Mothers Soul Collective, and guests like Haco, for a much more varied collection. The comedy-tribute Gong-isms are still floating around, and the rock-reverence is front and centre, but there’s a lot more going on here than you’d expect. So while there are some classic AMT, overloaded speed-freak melt-downs, with Kawabata’s guitar amped up to 12 and flailing around like electrocution was his tutor, there are also stumbly blues rumbles, troubadour-folk melodies, spun-out synth gurgles, and plenty of spacey sigh and clatter. Just like a lot of other AMT albums, really, though this feels like a smart place to start, if you’re intrigued.