I'm consistently impressed by that essential spark in the Japanesecreative potential that seems uncannily able to co-opt elements ofWestern culture and effortlessly transform them into a postmodernhybrid that is strangely familiar, yet entirely alien. There are clearforerunners for the sound of the Acid Mothers Temple — the space-rockof Hawkwind, the fuzz-metal of Blue Cheer and the hippie cult music ofAmon Duul II — and yet guru Kawabata Makoto and his family never engagein heavy-handed imitations of these influences. This cult of shaggy,unwashed heathens has repeatedly shown its talent for creatingforcefully original material that pays homage to its godfathers evenwhile joyously trampling on their graves. Magical Power From Marsis the latest addition to the Temple's absurdly prolific discography.This CD collects the three limited edition hologram EPs released byImportant Records earlier this year, and adds one bonus track availableonly on this release. The cover is another inspired lenticularspacescape - a retro-futurist scene resembling a 1920 World's Fairartist's rendering of humanity's inevitable colonization of Mars. Thetrack titles are puns on glam-era Bowie, oddly appropriate for thesefour massive, cosmic slabs of flamboyantly exaggerated rock n' roll."Ziggy Sitar Dust Raga" feels like an uneasy countdown: a persistentsitar scale backed by lunar synthesizers and a galaxy of hazyreverberations. This track kept me on the edge of my seat waiting forthe eventual onslaught. Ten minutes in, Cotton Casino's "Prepare fortakeoff!" shrieks made me feel ever closer to the inevitable launch.Twenty minutes later and surprise! No liftoff. It's all wind-up with noexplosion, like a long, exhausting tantric sex ritual. The second andfinest track, "Diamond Doggy Peggy," starts with Casino's possessedululations, before kicking the Acid Mothership into high shamanic gear,Makoto's hyperspeed guitar loosening its lysergic vibrations out intothe solar system. Cotton Casino's chirping synths sprinkle fairy dust(or angel dust?) over the cosmic proceedings. The bonus track, "AladdinKane," is a showcase for the Temple's synth and backwards-guitarprowess: a Joe Meek-meets-Tangerine Dream breakdown of galacticproportions. It's a haunting and genuinely creepy track that meandersthrough black holes and nebulous corridors, asking far more questionsthan it answers. "Cosmic Funky Dolly" is the final insult, a 20-minuteanomalous orbit that reverses the polarities of inner and outer spaceas it burns up on re-entry. This final track plays like a remake ofKubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Shinya Tsukamoto and starring the Manson Family. Luckily, the incomprehensibly galactic Magical Power From MarsCD conveniently arrives just in time to pop it in the player, drop acidand peruse the new high-powered telescope photographs of the RedPlanet. ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE, "MAGICAL POWER FROM MARS"
Important
I'm consistently impressed by that essential spark in the Japanesecreative potential that seems uncannily able to co-opt elements ofWestern culture and effortlessly transform them into a postmodernhybrid that is strangely familiar, yet entirely alien. There are clearforerunners for the sound of the Acid Mothers Temple — the space-rockof Hawkwind, the fuzz-metal of Blue Cheer and the hippie cult music ofAmon Duul II — and yet guru Kawabata Makoto and his family never engagein heavy-handed imitations of these influences. This cult of shaggy,unwashed heathens has repeatedly shown its talent for creatingforcefully original material that pays homage to its godfathers evenwhile joyously trampling on their graves. Magical Power From Marsis the latest addition to the Temple's absurdly prolific discography.This CD collects the three limited edition hologram EPs released byImportant Records earlier this year, and adds one bonus track availableonly on this release. The cover is another inspired lenticularspacescape - a retro-futurist scene resembling a 1920 World's Fairartist's rendering of humanity's inevitable colonization of Mars. Thetrack titles are puns on glam-era Bowie, oddly appropriate for thesefour massive, cosmic slabs of flamboyantly exaggerated rock n' roll."Ziggy Sitar Dust Raga" feels like an uneasy countdown: a persistentsitar scale backed by lunar synthesizers and a galaxy of hazyreverberations. This track kept me on the edge of my seat waiting forthe eventual onslaught. Ten minutes in, Cotton Casino's "Prepare fortakeoff!" shrieks made me feel ever closer to the inevitable launch.Twenty minutes later and surprise! No liftoff. It's all wind-up with noexplosion, like a long, exhausting tantric sex ritual. The second andfinest track, "Diamond Doggy Peggy," starts with Casino's possessedululations, before kicking the Acid Mothership into high shamanic gear,Makoto's hyperspeed guitar loosening its lysergic vibrations out intothe solar system. Cotton Casino's chirping synths sprinkle fairy dust(or angel dust?) over the cosmic proceedings. The bonus track, "AladdinKane," is a showcase for the Temple's synth and backwards-guitarprowess: a Joe Meek-meets-Tangerine Dream breakdown of galacticproportions. It's a haunting and genuinely creepy track that meandersthrough black holes and nebulous corridors, asking far more questionsthan it answers. "Cosmic Funky Dolly" is the final insult, a 20-minuteanomalous orbit that reverses the polarities of inner and outer spaceas it burns up on re-entry. This final track plays like a remake ofKubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Shinya Tsukamoto and starring the Manson Family. Luckily, the incomprehensibly galactic Magical Power From MarsCD conveniently arrives just in time to pop it in the player, drop acidand peruse the new high-powered telescope photographs of the RedPlanet.
I'm consistently impressed by that essential spark in the Japanesecreative potential that seems uncannily able to co-opt elements ofWestern culture and effortlessly transform them into a postmodernhybrid that is strangely familiar, yet entirely alien. There are clearforerunners for the sound of the Acid Mothers Temple — the space-rockof Hawkwind, the fuzz-metal of Blue Cheer and the hippie cult music ofAmon Duul II — and yet guru Kawabata Makoto and his family never engagein heavy-handed imitations of these influences. This cult of shaggy,unwashed heathens has repeatedly shown its talent for creatingforcefully original material that pays homage to its godfathers evenwhile joyously trampling on their graves. Magical Power From Marsis the latest addition to the Temple's absurdly prolific discography.This CD collects the three limited edition hologram EPs released byImportant Records earlier this year, and adds one bonus track availableonly on this release. The cover is another inspired lenticularspacescape - a retro-futurist scene resembling a 1920 World's Fairartist's rendering of humanity's inevitable colonization of Mars. Thetrack titles are puns on glam-era Bowie, oddly appropriate for thesefour massive, cosmic slabs of flamboyantly exaggerated rock n' roll."Ziggy Sitar Dust Raga" feels like an uneasy countdown: a persistentsitar scale backed by lunar synthesizers and a galaxy of hazyreverberations. This track kept me on the edge of my seat waiting forthe eventual onslaught. Ten minutes in, Cotton Casino's "Prepare fortakeoff!" shrieks made me feel ever closer to the inevitable launch.Twenty minutes later and surprise! No liftoff. It's all wind-up with noexplosion, like a long, exhausting tantric sex ritual. The second andfinest track, "Diamond Doggy Peggy," starts with Casino's possessedululations, before kicking the Acid Mothership into high shamanic gear,Makoto's hyperspeed guitar loosening its lysergic vibrations out intothe solar system. Cotton Casino's chirping synths sprinkle fairy dust(or angel dust?) over the cosmic proceedings. The bonus track, "AladdinKane," is a showcase for the Temple's synth and backwards-guitarprowess: a Joe Meek-meets-Tangerine Dream breakdown of galacticproportions. It's a haunting and genuinely creepy track that meandersthrough black holes and nebulous corridors, asking far more questionsthan it answers. "Cosmic Funky Dolly" is the final insult, a 20-minuteanomalous orbit that reverses the polarities of inner and outer spaceas it burns up on re-entry. This final track plays like a remake ofKubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Shinya Tsukamoto and starring the Manson Family. Luckily, the incomprehensibly galactic Magical Power From MarsCD conveniently arrives just in time to pop it in the player, drop acidand peruse the new high-powered telescope photographs of the RedPlanet. 
