PHILM – Harmonic
Harmonic is a curious gem from start to finish. Every track feels like listening in on PHILM (a very tight group of superstar players, including Slayer's Dave Lombardo) improvisationally jamming their way through a crock pot of psychedelic styles from the 60s, and yanking them into the 21st century in the process. It's only when the tempos suddenly slow down and stocky 70s Pink Floyd-esque excursions navigate their way into the droning space that a manic experimental edge reveals itself.
Centred in the track-list is the seven-minute Exuberance, a unique and sprawling jazz odyssey of distortion and freaky percussion. A complete contrast to the hell-beats surrounding it, the track is nevertheless endearing. Between the Iron Butterfly approach of journeying between different motifs and their decision to record everything live in real-time as a collective group, Harmonic holds an urgent and energetic appeal; comparable, if you could imagine such a meeting of minds, to MC5 meets Testament with a sprinkle of Mingus.