Growing, the epic drone metal duo comprised of Joe DeNardo and Kevin Doria, have (much like Landing) tempered their free-floating guitar sustain miasmas with some vintage synth blurble. There's still that massive, oil tanker turbine churn that Growing does so well, but it's been augmented with some dully-contrasting, Black Dicey neon junk phasings. No doubt ”” the jarring nerve-flash-fry of the second half of "Fancy Period" places one in a very Beaches & Canyons frame of mind. You feel decidedly adrift, but all the while you're being surreptitiously pelted by tiny poison darts as you float off into oblivion.
Which means Growing, despite their formless nature, will be harder than ever to utilize as mere background music. Now, Growing are a key watching-Aguirre-with-the-sound-off sort of band. "Blue Angels," the most His Return/Sky's Run Into the Sea selection here, is a definite highlight ”” right down to its intertwining Yume Bitsu knob-twiddles ending. Its slow, deliberate and subtly shifting drone makes the mind melt nicely. As with Landing, Growing's the sort of band you listen to because you want a particular psych rock sound. It's not that their B&C-inspired moments aren't enjoyable; they just sort of pale next to what the duo does best.
It's tricky reviewing a band whose best qualities are no doubt equal to that of MBV's infamous post-show automatic feedback washes. It's music where the maestros hardly have to move at all to blow minds, but closely observed, the sound comes off charmingly intuitive in its selective simplicity. It's not mind-blowing in the grand scheme of modern recordings, but Color Wheel is nonetheless music to become satisfyingly empty with. Perhaps the real highlight of the album is its closer, "Green Pasture." The short tune (by Growing's standards) takes their newly applied, jarring Gottschingesque repetitions and marries them with some heavier-than-God shred excavations. It's probably the weirdest song Growing have ever done, feeling like the soundtrack to a particularly sedate nature film spliced with some bonespitting-raw grindhouse clips.
As much as Color Wheel's brand of music isn't all that fresh, I still must heartily recommend this LP. It's actually much denser than Brocade, though perhaps it would feel just as tedious outside of the proper mind frame. Nevertheless, more slow Growing ooze is good news, even if its swampy green has taken on a day-glo sheen.
1. Fancy Period
2. Friendly Confines
3. Cumulusless
4. Blue Angels
5. Peace Offering
6. Green Pasture
More about: Growing
