Customer Reviews

Hypnotic Underworld

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Japanese band Ghost deliver their most varied and accomplished album yet with Hypnotic Underworld, which lives up to it's title repeatedly over the course of it's eleven tracks. From ethereal mellow melodic stuff to thunderous heaviness with incredible guitar by Michio Kurihara and exemplary voice, visions, and acoustic guitar from mainman Masaki Batoh, while the rest of the band prove their prowess on: bass, cello, tin whistle, tabla, flute, Theremin, saxophone, bouzouki, Mellotron, organ, lute, Celtic harp, recorder, etc. A modern tribally organic psychedelic masterpiece.

I put this review up as it may help any of those who are interested in the record, but are unable to listen to it (as snippets never suffice). I by no means mean it to be a comprehensive review. That said, this is clearly one of the best neo-psych albums i have yet heard. The album is solid through and through, and manages to nicely hearken back to early seventies psych prog, while advancing too. It is prog, with the woodwinds, but has the nice fuzz guitar of psych. The musicianship is excellent, compositions interesting and creative. As a listener to classic psych and prog, this album is one of the most satisfying neo-psych records available. But at risk of repeating myself yet again, i end on note of saying buy it and enjoy.

Mixing together heavily amplified guitar with the acoustic elegance of traditional ethnic instruments on "Hypnotic Underworld", Japan's Ghost (as they did on "Lama Rabi Rabi") once again deliver psychedelic folk that is strongly underscored by explosive riffing, creative percussion, and sustained passages of timeless, reflective, atmospheric beauty. Not as steeped in tranquil, pastoral tunefulness as its predecessor, "Snuffbox Immanence", and not as dynamically aggressive as "Lama Rabi Rabi", this release seems to have sought a balance between the two, but with an interesting wrinkle.

That "wrinkle" is the experimental title track, a nearly twenty-three minute, four-part suite (each with subtitles). More than one reviewer has commented on the stylistic influences contained within this cut, ranging through jazz, progressive rock, and (on the last track, the :22 "Leave This Place") a blistering snippet of ear-grinding heavy metal. It can be demanding if you're not in the right frame of mind for it, so be advised that track 5, designed as a slowly unwinding yet somewhat assertive guitar-driven transitional piece, "Hazy Paradise" can serve as an opener just as well.

"Kiesechekuan Kite", with its ritualized chanting and usage of instruments exclusive to Japanese culture , briefly revisits the sense of rusticity so prevalent on "Snuffbox Immanence" while "Holy High", with its insistent woodwind, driving acoustic guitar, and overall percussive force captures some of the dynamic tension present on track 2 of "Lama Rabi Rabi". "Dominoes/Celebration For Grey Days" "Gangmanang", and "Feed" are more in synch with "Hazy Paradise", ferocious and transcendental in a more fluidly structured way than on their two previous releases.

My advice to anyone interested enough to have read this far is to pick up a copy of "Hypnotic Underworld", but only after first purchasing "Lama Rabi Rabi" and "Snuffbox Immanence" and listening to them in that order first. It will give you a clearer perspective on what they've dared and what they have been able to accomplish on this release.

I haven't heard all of their cds, but this one is my favorite and the most accomplished effort. The opening piece is challenging to rock listeners, being an extended jazzy meditiation. It does build ever so slowly and evolves into a powerful prog piece, perhaps not too different from some of Gong's efforts. The dreamy pop-psych aspect of the group presents a welcome contrast to the firey instrumental intensity and Hazy Paradise is a perfect transition after the title track.

I think the musicianship is a definite step up from their earlier work; there is an intuitive sensitivity and maturity replacing some of the youthful vigor of the first cds. Dominoes is a wonderful closer, a subtle Barrett cover that is likely not known by the legion of Pink Floyd fans. Balance is the key here, they can go to extemes in either the frantic chanting or sweet new-age meaderings, but here is the best of both sides in a fluid whole.

Imagine for a moment that Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Neil Gaimon all had a drunken orgy while in Japan. Ghost would be their love child.

Their sound is experimental and not in the least mainstream, and I go for that sort of thing. It's also mostly in Japanese, which I don't speak. But I don't mind in the least. If any of that sounds appealing, buy some Ghost!

My god this is a great album. I'm a fan of 70s Krautrock and prog, but often times I think you have to put up with a good deal of boring not so great stuff in order to arrive at real gems when listening to bands like Amon Duul II or Can. With Ghost, it is like they filtered out all the annoying stuff and condensed all the good parts, then added lots of extra flair of their own. And Michio Kurihara's guitar tone on some of the tracks is unbelievable to me. Highly recommended.

Modern Japanese musicians have become synonymous with creating some of the most challenging music in today's modern world. This is most likely due to the fact that the artistic culture in Japan is increasingly becoming more permissive than that of the United States. Don't get me wrong, we have our fair share of great musicians in the United States; and we certainly don't have any trouble mixing genres and sub-genres to continually search for new avenues of creation. However, listening to albums by Japanese noise artists like Aube, Otomo Yoshihide, Merzbow, or even Acid Mothers Temple, can really start to take a toll on your ears and show you just how forward-thinking music can be. At times, it can send you in frenzied rush to your CD collection in desperate need of something sugar-coated to get you back to where you need to be. The Japanese experimental psych-kraut-prog-improv band Ghost, fit into a slightly different genre of music than the noise artists, and show less experimentation than the noise movement.

I'll be the first to admit that while I may enjoy some of the previously named artists, it's pretty hard to be an expert, or part-time listener, in the field of noise music. Japanese experimental psych-kraut-prog-improv band Ghost, fit into a different genre of music than the noise movement, but stay dedicated to executing the same aesthetic of experimentation. Their latest album, Hypnotic Underworld, which also happens to be their first LP in five years on Drag City, is not much of a leap from previous albums. It begins in such a way that insinuates it will be an improvised album (God Take a Picture of His Illness on This Ground), and then slowly moves towards a more psychedelic rock-oriented album a la Pink Floyd.

The second part of the four-piece movement, "Escaped and Lost Down in Medina," is one of the most promising segments of Hypnotic World; with it's blunted fuzzed-out bass and gentle atmospherics that would make any DJs crate digging experience complete. "Hazy Paradise," a cover of Earth & Fire's song from the band's 1969 debut Prog album, is a beautiful song that sounds like Yes might have covered it instead. With "Kiseichukan Nite" through "Holy High," Ghost focuses on the ethereal sounds of various soft instruments like pipes, flutes, and drums. The album ends on a high note with what is easily the best song: a beautiful cover of Syd Barrett's "Dominoes."

Although Ghost has an uncanny ability to pair their improvisational style with recognizable structures, there seems to be a little something missing in the overall design of this album. Perhaps it's the awkwardness of the instruments together, the general combination of genres and sounds, or the way there's no real focus on a particular style or concept. The music on Hypnotic World is quite good, and at times very pleasurable to endure. Somehow, though, it loses its determination and focus too many times in large increments. It's certainly nowhere near as hard to listen to as some of the other music coming from the same place.

I was expecting more experimental noise than this Rock and soft jazz sound with a hint of Irish in it. I like this change of pace some what but, is it to good for it ownself. I hear a bit of Pink Floyd in this as well. Some people will like this right away, while others will have to listen to in several times before they really appreciate it.

I live in Japan and trying to get to know about people and culture. I heard about Ghost sometimes ago but I never had listened to their music. So, once on Amazon, I read some positive revues about this cd and I decided to buy it. Fortunately, I bought it used, so It didn't cost very much, because this record is very ugly. When I started playing it I listened to the first song and I thought:well, let's give them another chance with the next song. But, this kind of music is very old and unfashinating, and they sing in a very terrible way.