Cloaks - A Crystal Skull In Peru [Atheists Are Gods]

It's been a while but I really love surprises (hint). When I opened the envelope in which Starving Weirdos' Father Guru came there was this cd in it as well and ta-da! It surprised me. So that was nice, started to put it on early sunday mornings and it's perfect for a hazy sunday come down from whatever gloomy stuff you did the night before. It doesn't pull you out of the haze but rather maintains it and slowly massages your sobering senses.
Cloaks is Starving Weirdos affiliated I think, this one came out on their own Atheists Are Gods imprint but there's no website, or obscure blog/distro that has anymore info on them than is on the cool little insert that comes with the cd. All cool, no sweat. Apparently the Cloaks guy is Spencer D. who could or could not be in the Starving Weirdos gang, no idea but it doesn't matter much anyway. A Crystal Skull In Peru is comprised of two tracks, the title track being the longest and at more than 32 minutes also the most impressive or should I say enchanting or should I say hypnotic or should I just stick to pretty damn great? When the piece gets going after some initial, stuttering effects it reminds me of Charlemagne Palestine's Strumming Music. The pianoloops get accompanied by endless parades of chiming bells and it's like watching dew drops fall down from spiderwebs on one of those foggy sunday mornings out in the fields. Gorgeous stuff and it lasts for more than half an hour!
Second tracks clocks in at just over 16 minutes and sees Spencer D. pulling out an extremely clear sounding electric guitar next to the holier than thou grande piano. Guests Charlotte Olsen handles electronics and Gregg Devaney does the harmonium but I really can't make out who does what and when exactly. That blurring sensation is also what makes this track work. It's a constantly shifting, dense piece with deeper, melancholic chords as well as the floatier ones we got on the title track. It seems that everything Starving Weirdos are involved in, direct or indirect is made for me. If you dig Steve Reich, Charlemagne Palestine as well as Double Leopards and Machinefabriek I bet you'd like Cloaks.

Tell you what, email the guy and tell him I told you to tell him..........you'd like a copy.......spencerd@63@hotmail.com