review by: Roberto Martinelli

We were supposed to review this MCD by Acid Mother’s Temple, who are, I’m told, like, THE shit as far as cult psychedelic music is concerned. But the album we got our hands on was SO boring, and, according to our man Dave McGonigle, not at all representative of how good AMT can be. It was a 20 minute long drone raga. It sucked.

The Avarus album reviewed here is what that Acid Mother’s Temple album should have been. I’m calling the Avarus “267 Lattajaa” only because it’s my best guess as to what it’s actually titled. For all I know, it could be an address.

This is one of those DIY CDRs that come in a piece of paper folded in two with a plastic baggie holding it all together. The artwork is pretty cool, like the Beatles got together and did some finger painting. And the paint was actually *applied* to each cover. That’s cult cool.

But it’s all about the music.

Like that Acid Mother’s Temple CD, the Avarus disk is one track that lasts around 20 minutes. It’s drony and somewhat raga-like, with soothing, buzzy guitars that fade in. The overall effect is like a flow of clouds moving swiftly overhead with the drumming providing the undercurrent that gives them motion.

In terms of the band’s progression, it’s cool to see that since the last recording we reviewed (here), Avarus has found a sound that’s entirely different from another one of our favorite Finnish psyche bands, Kemialliset Ystävät. A very, very nice piece of musical obscurity. (8/10)