Saying I Love You, I Continue to Curse Myself

This live release on the Blast First label is unique and worth hearing because it’s one of only a few records documenting Keiji Haino’s interest in Indian music and instruments. It features two untitled tracks, the first of which is a 44-minute endurance test. It’s nominally a solo guitar piece, but it sounds more like a calliope or pipe organ pushed through such a thick layer of distortion that it’s like you’re hearing it coming from the next house over while your own house burns down around you. The second piece is its complete opposite: an 18-minute performance on the rudra veena, an Indian instrument that consists of seven or eight strings running across a cylindrical fretboard, with two globular resonators attached. Haino strums the instrument in a steady, mournful pattern while improvising lyrics in Japanese that have a wailing, almost ritualistic quality. It’s a stark and powerful performance, and after what comes before it feels like being washed in cool water.