On the Roof of Kedar Lodge

Making experimental music is easy. Seek out disorganized noise in a relatively new form and you're all set. Making good experimental music, however, is next to impossible. That requires an intuitive sense of breakneck originality that's engaging enough to make an audience take notice. Atr and Yoshimi P-We, dueling drummers for the avant-something troupe the Boredoms, should appreciate this theory as much as anyone. They've slapped together oodles of unlistenable noise albums, and they've also composed sublime, earnest, and ethereal melodies. Psycho-Baba, one of the projects they do to kill time while away from the Boredoms, shows just how wonderful it can be when it all comes together. Led by sitar player Mhayow, the modern experimental tendencies of the Boredoms have been put on the back burner in favor of South Asian harmonies. The ethnic ambiance melds seamlessly with subtle, hypnotic electronic inducements, along with elaborate percussion arrangements that keep it all moving. "Bhajan Me" is simply gorgeous. Atr and Yoshimi pound on low-end tablas while Yoshimi chants a series of eerie, processed, well-placed incantations through a chaos pedal. It's pleasant from start to finish, with moments of near perfection. A great album even for those who might shy away from the Boredoms.