Spirits

Having released several tapes over the years that feature his instrumental mix of acoustic folk and electric psych meditations, Dewey Mahood continues his explorations with this deliberately restrained set. Where, say, My Bloody Valentine created the loudest wall of droning electronics, Plankton Wat seeks to remove the murky shield and discover what's underneath. Dusty Dybvig plays hand drums while a machine handles the metronomic loops. The rhythms are secondary, however, to the slowly swelling music that pulses between Middle Eastern desert folk arias and ambient tone poems in the style of Brian Eno or Steve Roach. Though it's said that these tracks were recorded on a four-track cassette in Mahood's basement, Spirits isn't a lo-fi experience. There's a richness of tone in the head music of "Islands" and the slow buzz and transmitting-from-outer-space sounds. The acoustic vistas of "Portland & Western Cross" and "Fabric of Life" nicely contrast with the harmonium drones of "Stream of Light."