Audio Archive 003 CDr
The Audio Archive series by Expo '70 have always been my favorite releases by this artist, so I was quite excited to find out it wouldn't end with only two volumes. What is it that is so special about this series then? I guess it's because I find these compilations of odds and ends to be more varied than the proper albums. Whereas the main albums seem to focus more often on variations of heavy, doom-inflected drones, this series finds the artist exploring a wider array of sounds. Some of the tracks on this release even border on ambient music. The opening Great Glass Mountain even sounds a bit like the some of the music created for the PS3 game Everyday Shooter with it's delayed guitar phrasings and improvisational approach. There are of course many heavier dronescapes to be found throughout the album, but it's also here that the artist's retro vibe is most prominent and for this reason alone they will always remain my favorites.

Expo '70/I Am Seamonster Split 7"
Expo 7' gets all sabbathy and goes Iron Man on us with Heterotopia, the first side of this limited split 7" with I Am Seamonster. One resounding, single-note riff is repeated ad infinitum while the ultimate cosmic guitar solo from time immemorial slowly guides us through this occult journey. I Am Seamonster's Smoke Rings is a blisteringly loud sonic curiosity. The track lies somewhere between Ignatz's asylum blues stylings, Fushitsusha's astral aggression and Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western themes. Eclectic is an understatement in this case. If you were lucky enough to get your hands on one of the first 100 copies (of the 285 run), you also received a quaint little 3"CD with additional tunes from both artists. Wright's track here is a great example of his "retro mode" work as a pulsating background fuzz is joined by Pink Floyd-esque guitar hiccups while I Am Seamonster brings us three servings of deep fried and corrosive guitar solos.

Sunglasses 7"
This short 7" single finds Wright in a profoundly altered state as he brings us some of the most spaced-out drone compositions of his recent work. Sunglasses is basically Bobby Beausoleil's soundtrack to Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising in a drone setting. In fact, I'm certain this track would make a fabulous alternate soundtrack to the original film (Mr. Anger... If you ever read this!) Layers of fuzz upon layers of fuzz pile up as the song slowly progresses into an intense mystical head trip which just might let you see the shape of time. With Trancending Energy From Light, we suddenly lose all notions of physicality as our minds disintegrate into pure energy and we become witness to natural phenomena which science hasn't even explained yet. Trippy you say? Fuck yes! And I would even go so far as to say that this minor release needs to be heard by all those who are curious about the artist's work. If this one doesn't get you hooked, then nothing will!