Bong are ready for you, but are you ready for them? Photo: Mark Savage
In the seventh edition of Dysgeusia, Getintothis’ Laura Coppin discovers mesmerising aural atmospheres and reveals just how much she loves to dream.
As spring tentatively began to peep over winter’s parapet, and golden sunlight gently lit the year’s first daffodils and crocuses, I foolishly allowed myself to believe that a glorious Easter filled with sunlight-strolls would be laying in wait.
Not so, ladies and gentlemen. Apparently we’ll be drowning in a myriad of miserable conditions including (but not limited to) gale force winds, torrential rain, and snow.
I never learn.
Being an incredibly light sleeper I normally would be mildly irked by such noisy weather conditions, as the wooden shed in which I dwell tends to sound as though adolescent weather-elementals are using it to host their first excruciating band rehearsal. Thanks to Jeff Bridges however, I sleep as soundly as the most peaceful of babes.
In case you haven’t yet heard about what may be the greatest thing to have ever happened, Jeff Bridges recently released his Sleeping Tapes – a set of ASMR-laden recordings designed to gently lead even the most restless of sleepers off into a gloriously vivid dreamscape. In amidst the kaleidoscopic overlays of hums and whispers there’s one segment in which Jeff tells you all of the things he likes about you (shucks, I suppose I do order well in restaurants…) and another in which he leads you on a languorously surreal adventure through a starlit desert.
Bridges’ voice is absolutely perfect for the tapes; rough, rich, earthy and vast. It’s hard to articulate just how absolutely magnificent the tracks are, as each night your own consciousness interweaves with the sounds to take you somewhere entirely new. The only jarring moment is one in which he asks you if you’d like to pretend to be crows together, and disappointingly acknowledges your refusal. WHO WOULD TURN THAT DOWN?! Seriously.
Caw-caw… *sob*
Best of all? All the benevolent Mr Bridges asks is that you donate a little to charity. It’s not mandatory, but if you’re willing to be generous then so is he – you can then download some extra tracks. After all, who wouldn’t want more? Unless you wouldn’t want to be a crow anyway: you can stay clear of all of this transcendent wonder you absolute cretin.
On the subject of aural atmospheres, Bong have announced the upcoming release of their fifth album We are, We Were and We Will Have Been. Their previous offering Beyond Ancient Space was an unrelenting procession through time immemorial; a funerary march along ancient corridors swirling with dust that brought me untold amounts of joy.
To my delight, their latest offering seems set to provide listeners with an equally vast and mesmerising experience. Comprising solely of two monolithic twenty minute tracks, Time Regained and Find Your own Gods, the album promises to envelop your ears with a drone so ancient its wizened claws will carry your brain off into a sonic void. To say I’m excited doesn’t really cover it.
Speaking of exciting things, Super Luxury are a quartet of mischievous scamps whose debut album Ten Solid Years of Applause is now streaming on Soundcloud. I will admit that before I’d even listened to any of the tracks I’d been half won over by the wonderful audacity of the album’s title, something regular readers of this column (if there actually are any of you) could have no doubt guessed immediately.
The songs themselves thankfully don’t disappoint, mixing ferocious yet strangely catchy sludge-ridden guitar with brilliantly tuneless wails. The spirited quartet will be playing a series of UK dates from April 1, and I cannot say enough how much you should go to see them – there promises to be everything from ladders to confetti cannons. Providing you like your discordant punk with a hefty slice of fun, that is.
Another show you simply must all attend is Goatwhore‘s upcoming tour with Skeletonwitch. Goatwhore‘s live show is astonishingly good, ranking among the best peformances I’ve ever had the pleasure to see.
Admittedly I had been gently intoxicated by a toasty mixture of cider and Ben Falgoust‘s charismatic charm prior to the experience, but there’s no reason you can’t do the same – he will most likely be heroically manning the merch stand for much of the night.
If that’s not worth braving the rain, then I don’t know what is.
