medicine to pacify your ills and fuel the ascent - crystals of love. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)
Prior to dropping the needle, an incipient, positive energy was palpable. The inscription on the insert, regarding the positive force, was an invitation to immerse oneself. The stunning artwork and design was a harbinger to a cosmic journey which would soon fill the room with hypnotic tribal percussion; reverberating sax; enveloping flute; diverse fretwork; heady bass; and spoken vocals. Everything was lined up for a great psych experience. Six tracks later, my head glowing intensely from the trip, I discovered that Positive Force is more than a psych album - it is a sonic journey. There is a distilled wisdom that this six-piece disseminates, and if handled with care by listener, it manifests as sonic enlightenment. Positive Force, by Al Doum & The Faryds - a co-release by Julia Dream Recordings and Black Sweat Records, is a compendium of psych rock, Krautrock, jazz, fusion, and eastern/African influences among others. An album so mesmerizing deserves to be played on repeat.
The album commences with the mystical vibrations of 'Sinai', one of the more impressive tracks I have heard in a while. The band lay down an edifying groove of heady bass and tribal rhythms that immediately alters the trajectory of the mind. Almost immediately, waves of sax and alluring guitar alternate. Soon, they reach full jam mode as the charged tones of the guitar and fervent sax coalesce in search of the zenith. From this point, they peer inward, as the ritualistic zoner, 'Earth', unleashes an entrancing mix of sparse guitar, bass, percussion and spoken vocals. Nothing quite prepared me for the lovely 'Rahjan Creek', a pastoral, hazy raga-like zoner. The trip re-commences on the flip with the appropriately titled jam, 'Ship of Joy'. Beautiful percussion and a lively bass line create a foundation, over which hazy chants, languid guitar and sax hover peacefully. The next track, 'Lava' is similar in spirit, though different from the stellar 'Rahjan Creek', as waves of percussion and horns pervade your head. This leads to 'Thirst', which manifests like the dawn of the sun. It has an energy unlike anything else on this journey. The healing six-string reverberations, solitary bass line, and wave-like flute infuse the soul with light from the embryonic sun.
This lp is one from the highest of top shelves, and another prodigious statement from Julia Dream Recordings. Released in 2012, this blazing hash rocket is something that I would add to Tasty Trichomes. For denizens of the US and Canada, purchase your copy through Julia Dream. Also, one may purchase a copy of Positive Force here.
peace and love, friends :)
