Master Musicians of Bukkake – Far West

Having completed their Totem cycle of albums, everyone's favourite experimental psych-rock weirdos return with a new LP. It's still a decidedly conceptual work; playing out like a testing, soul-searching journey through barren plains, it opens up with the hideous feedback assault of White Mountain Return, which suddenly fades out only to be replaced by a throbbing, tribal pulse and rudimentary percussion before finally erupting into something more complex and grandiose.

This kind of gradual layering will come as no surprise to those familiar with the collective's past work. There are no huge departures, which is disappointing when considering the similarities between this record and the past three. Still, the Musicians play to their strengths, blending oddball folk (Circular Ruins), low-end drone (You are a Dream Like Your Dreamer) and spacey psychedelia (Arche) to majestic ends. Better yet, the seamless, heavily atmospheric flow of the record just doesn't let up, making it their most cohesive statement yet. [Ross Watson]