The Psychic Nature Of Being
Kranky, 2005
rating: 4/5
reviewer: filmore mescalito holmes


I'm not sure what it is, but when Robert Lowe, referred to as Lichens in the studio, gets humming melancholia and picking/strumming his acoustic guitar over some strained mechanical effect, I am driven by trance to witness the slowly spinning spirit of Jim Morrison with his hands outstretched like an airplane bouncing around a bonfire in slow motion slightly offbeat. Lucky for me, there are only three tracks on The Psychic Nature Of Being, so this doesn't happen too often. Naturally, this is a quite progressive album –tracks often beginning with only some field recordings or a layered vocal effect before building into much, much more – but it's not needlessly so, for these three songs are all one-time, one-take sessions of Lichens on his own at three different locations with no overdubbing or editing whatsoever. When I first threw this on, I just kinda spaced out to the drones that would become sounds. Out of the blue, I was awoken by the seeming reincarnation of The Doors at their most tribal and psychedelic, possibly during an extended jam of "The End." Then, scrambling for the press release, I was further befuddled to discover these were mere one-offs recorded in real time. In short, this CD gave my mind a blow job.

1. Kirlian Auras
2. Shoreline Scoring
3. You Are Excrement, You Can Turn Yourself Into Gold