World

A collaboration between Honey Owens of Jackie-O M**********r and Adam Forkner of Yume Bitsu, World consists of three lengthy slabs of improvisational space rock built with heavily processed guitar and synth sounds as well as a bit of minimal percussion. Spare to the point that there are passages of near-silence, these elongated pieces don't build in the traditional musical sense, but nor are they formless, amorphous drones; the 22-minute "Now Is Forever" even has vocals by Owens, as well as a free jazz-influenced woodwind part. However, the placid surface of the album is obliterated by the four-minute unlisted bonus at album's end, an aggressive psych-fuzz-inspired track called "Diamond Mountain" that mixes a fierce Hendrixian rhythm guitar riff with squalls of overdriven, distorted guitar noise and an incomprehensible vocal by Owens that eventually devolves into Yoko Ono-style ululations. Ultra-trippy and packing about six times the rock energy of the spacey hour's worth of ambience that preceded it, "Diamond Mountain" is a delightful surprise that unfortunately makes the rest of the album seem a little less interesting in comparison.