Great limited LP on Jeremy Earl of Woods/Woodsist’s new label. Herbcraft is the solo project of Matthew Lajoie of Cursillistas, birthed in a fever dream inspired by Jefferson Starship’s classic Blows Against The Empire and Admiral Richard Byrd’s secret diary where Lajoie imagined a lost 1973 concept album about the discovery of the inner earth and the lost world of Agartha. Recorded in 24 hours, Discovers The Bitter Water Of Agartha is a stunning navigation of druggy Matthew Valentine/Spectrasound styled psychedelic folk, with a thick smoke of F/X masking some fantastic rural rock that at points sounds like a 90s underground take on Skip Spence’s Oar or a Dead bootleg on Majora. Either way this is a solid winner. Edition of 500 copies. Recommended. 

Hand-numbered edition of 130 copies compilation with unreleased tracks from a buncha VT faves including Metal Rouge, Cursillistas, Cloud Nothings, Sore Eros, Coasting, Big Troubles, City Center, Campfires, Brett Marren, Possum, Lame Drivers, Sleep In Sundays, Falsetto Boy, Mountainhood, Island’s Eyelids and Sultan. 

“Stunning sophomore release from Matt Lajoie’s Herbcraft project. Last year’s Discovers the Bitter Water of Agartha album and its companion cassette-only release Papers of outtakes, studio jams and live rehearsals were two of my favourite releases of 2010. They both displayed a west coast psych vibe ala the Dead and Quicksilver mixed with some basement jams and COM style ragas/spectrasound psychedelia. Whilst still retaining some of this core sound Herbcraft have refused to sit still and have developed their sound into a few radical new directions – touching on industrial/urban sounds as well as space exploration whilst remaining core to the album’s ‘concept’ of ashram (the Hindu for spiritual hermitage or activity such as meditation and music).
Opening track “Fleet Guru” begins with a shamanic strumming pattern which slowly builds into a mantra type jam which sounds like something from Father Yod. The track slowly builds with each instrument adding to the ritualistic feel of the song, particularly the bassline which is repeated throughout this eight minute jam. Layers of soaring guitar and sonic arcs of feedback are interwoven creating a complex soundscape which also reminds me of some of Dewey Mahood’s (Plankton Wat/Eternal Tapestry) more extended pieces on his excellent In Magical Light set on Reverb Worship. At 5m30s, the addition of heavy FX vocals reminiscent of Sun Araw add to the hypnotic quality of the track which appears to typify the album’s ‘ashram’ concept.
Next up is a complex guitar triptych which is segued together comprising “Altar 2: Across the Abyss - Freak Flag - Altar 3: Birth’d”. Whilst deeply psychedelic this is far from the west coast sounds of the first album and closer to the wilder sounds of Japanese psychedelia with an open wah-wah fuzz guitar tone similar to that of Takashi Mizutani of Les Rallizes Denudes. Compared to the organic sound of the first album this presentation also introduces the concept of industrial sounds. “Altar 2: Across the Abyss” starts with some space FX type feedback and guitar sounds before at 1m20s we hear the introduction of slow churning mechanical machinery and further space FX sounds on the guitar which remind me of the end of Hendrix’s “Third Stone from the Sun”. “Freak Flag” segues in with some light tribal percussion followed by a two note bassline which provide the canvas for some of the album’s wildest psychedelic guitar. The comparison to Takashi Mizutani is closest here or perhaps that of Matthew Valentine on Wobbly Hall with a guitar sound which could easily strip metal.  At 2m07 the bassline speeds up with an almost Hawkwind type vibe as the track evolves into a space jam. It feels like the development from the first album here, possibly inspired by various live jams as a solo performer or with his supporting Earthcraft band. However the guitar parts still sound carefully constructed and delivered with a more mature precision and dexterity. The final part of “Altar 3: Birth’d” introduces more melody to the guitar playing compared to the feedback drenched performance of the first two parts. Delivered with a sweet fat distortion this reminds me again of Hendrix or particularly Eddie Hazel’s playing on “Maggot Brain”. Towards the movement’s close at 3m50s the machinery theme reappears with the sound of printers and the dull drum of factory machinery as if bringing the movement complete circle. To me this feels like radical new direction for Herbcraft which is really pushing the boundaries.
The second side starts with “Get Esoteric” which is probably closest to the sound of the “Agartha” LP – a real west coast vibe with a strummed acoustic pattern reminiscent of Skip Spence or Moby Grape. Various interwoven guitars are added across the loose jam evoking the feel of Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name – in my opinion the definitive west coast sound. Layered and looping FX are added with chanting vocals and even sampling a track from Matt Lajoie’s previous Cursillistas project. Some real sweet guitar jams on this one where the melody/rhythm of the vocals are more important than the inaudible words. Next is the album’s unexpected highlighted, “Mass” which is a 13 minute drone masterpiece which merges both industrial and ambient soundscapes. The piece starts with a single ambient drone and slowly introduces repeating loops and background spoken word passages. Some of the repeating loops evoke a slight industrial or mechanical feel.  Overall, this reminds me of something between the loops of William Basinski’s A Red Score In Tile and the ambient industrial drone of last year’s Stars Explode by Cold Cave/Prurient. At 4m30s we hear the subtle introduction of what sounds like chiming chords or bells, at 7m or so the industrial sounds and rumbling engines start to disintegrate and by 8m are completely gone. This leaves only an ambient drone of harp-like sounds, acoustic guitars and scattered piano notes with the same fragility, poignancy and melodic phrasing of Andrew Chalk’s Cable House. Like small fragments of poetry or untold stories this is heartbreakingly beautiful – you’ve got to hear this. The album closes with “Jupiter Trine Sun” which starts with some scattered percussion and lucid meanderings of arabesque or North African guitar before breaking into a full-out jam which would not be out of place with Sir Richard Bishop’s Freak of Araby Ensemble.  This is a fitting closing eastern jam which seems to evoke the very spirit of album’s concept of ‘ashram’.
I have read a couple of online blog reviews which have referred to this as simply drug music which appear to be grossly misinformed and proof of not having actually listened to this album in any detail. This is a vastly complex album where Matt has attempted to explore some radically new ideas from those of the first album whilst still remaining true to that Herbcraft sound. In fact what comes across most of all is that this harks back to a time when records were made for the sole purpose of being that ‘classic long player’, where the songs themselves, the running order, the side A/B split and the artwork are all carefully considered to deliver an album with an underlying concept which is to be listened to as a single cohesive statement. Overall, a major statement from this artist with a combination of mantra jams, wild psychedelic guitar and ambient drones which develop a number of underlying themes. To seal the deal I love the kaleidoscope artwork in the style of Pink Floyd’s Piper At The Gates of Dawn.  Well worth spending some time with this album, a real keeper for sure. It’s highly recommended.” – Andrew Ross.