Om - Advaitic Songs (Album Review)
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Wednesday, 18 July 2012 |
Written by Ben Bland
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If there was a competition to decide which bands were least likely to become really big in the next twelve months then surely Om would have to be near the top of the list. I mean, 'Advaitic Songs' is the best album of their career to date but it is so anti-zeitgeist that it may as well have a big sticker on the front with Nick Clegg’s grinning face on it. This is exactly the opposite of the sort of music that most people even think of listening to, and that is part of the reason why it is so brilliant.
 I don’t mean to sound like a musical elitist here, but even fans of stoner rock are not all going to ‘get’ this album. It’s not really fitting to refer to it as being placed within a genre at all. Sure there are those repetitive, loping riffs that could be seen as a hangover from Om’s foundation from stoner rock legends Sleep but there are also strings and mysterious chanting…and the sort of indescribable spacey atmosphere that most psychedelic bands fail to create in whole careers.
It is probably becoming obvious that describing the feel of this record is more important than describing its musical outlook. To be honest, the best word that sums up this aspect of 'Advaitic Songs' might just be ‘gentle’. This is the sort of album that reaches out and caresses you. It may be firmly entrenched in experimental music but it wants to lure you into bed for tender lovemaking, not drag you outside in the street and repeatedly bang you over the head with a baseball bat until you haven’t got a clue what time of day it is. Call it drone, avant-garde, Middle Eastern neoclassical easy listening music, whatever you like. What matters is that this album is one that will hold your hand on its incredible journey. You could listen to this album after a long, tiring day and still fall in love with it.
'Advaitic Songs' is not so much your usual listening experience as an overall experience that will ensnare your heart, mind and soul. For forty-five minutes or so this album is like the best drug that has never existed. Kick back and allow nothing to distract you if you can. This album is worth it.
'Advaitic Songs' is out on Monday 23rd July via Drag City.
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