Proprietors of the fantastic vinyl review blog OMG Vinyl recently laid the foundation for their new label Sweat Lodge Guru with four solid cassette releases. Based out of Sioux City, Iowa, these guys have really come out of the gates strong with a choice selection of artists and varied but cohesive presentation.
Plante, the project of Kansas City droner Andrew Plante is just as well off to a great start with three releases under his belt this year alone; the other two of which were released by Peasant Magik and Sonic Meditations. Temples on High sees Plante refining his guitar based drone approach, this time accompanied by McKinley Jones of Breathing Flowers on synth.
Temples On High comes to us in two parts, the first being The Chariot, which rolls by at drone speed with tightly layered guitars feeding back in slow graceful fluidity. McKinley's synth melts perfectly into the mix, adding subtle complexity to the piece. The guitars gradually saturate into dense, monolithic slabs and comparisons to Sunn O))) become pretty hard to avoid. Nonetheless, Plante undoubtedly paints in delicate touches that make all the difference in setting him apart. In the albums darkest moments, there still remains a lively vibrance that you won't find on Sunn O)))'s records, at least not at the level produced by Plante.
Journey of the Twins, the second part of the album starts the B side where The Chariot left off; a slow winding down of a long sustained, overdriven thrum. Phantom overtones begin to warmly meld with delicate melodic synth phrases and glassy high register feedback swells. By the halfway mark, everything is working as one living, breathing mass; remaining in perfect stasis for the remainder of the side.
Plante has really got my attention with this one and I've got my eyes peeled for the next one to come down the pike. Justin Wright of Expo '70 puts the Kansas City cherry on top with a fantastic cover, as always. Grab this one before its gone and stay tuned to Sweat Lodge Guru. I'm sure there's plenty more gems coming along soon.
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