My introduction to La Otracina could be considered accidental. I was in Brooklyn for Split Thy Skull at Mugg’s Alehouse with Ian. We decided to follow up our heavy drinking session with a short walk over to Soundfix, where I am prone to dumping boatloads of money if under the influence. I picked up a copy of The Psychic Paramount’s Origins and Primatives double-disc, and Ian began talking to the young guy behind the counter about whether or not he too should pick up the album. The guy (Adam) began to talk about how he knew them, and recommended Gamelan Into the Mink Supernatural. I mentioned how much I liked that album, as well as the new White Hills record, and he mentioned that his band was going to playing with them at a “secret show” in the next month. Sensing my excitement, he scrawled his band’s MySpace URL on the back of my receipt, and after leaving the store the receipt sat in the bag for about three weeks before I remembered it was there.
Upon visiting the band’s MySpace page, I noticed a link to their official website, which was connected to Colour Sounds Recordings, a label started by Adam. I spent a good deal of time clicking through the various pages devoted to different experimental projects and listening to the available La Otracina clips. I was floored by the expertly crafted heavy psych/space rock stylings. The available tracks hinted at what I imagined to be lengthy, depthless, kraut-inspired grooves sprinkled with euphoric ambiance. I posted ‘Cornfield’ (from the Trinomy CD-R) as part of a mix tape to help spread the word, but I craved more. Lucky for us, La Otracina are about to release their first album on Holy Mountain (one of my ten favorite labels). Titled Tonal Ellipse Of The One, it contains five mesmerizing tracks of trance-inducing, surrealistic
jams that emphasize their improvisational wizardry and appreciation of all things psychedelic.
From the start, it’s abundantly clear that La Otracina intend to envelop the listener in massive swaths of sound. “Yellow Mellow Magic” expands like fog as devastating tom-heavy drums build to a crescendo. Once the band reaches critical mass, they spiral downward through a maze of cosmic energy before launching into an extended motorik march accented with drug-drenched guitar leads. Each track flows effortlessly into the next, and never do they stray from their path. “Beyond The Dusty Hills (Cowboy In The Desert Part Two)” opens with a Morricone-style intro that stops on a dime and launches into a free, loose, space-rock lope complete with dive-bombing synthesizer tone bends and monumental feedback swells. The band are masters of restraint, and for the sundry sounds which make up these tracks, it never sounds like overkill. They possess immense musical talent, and never exceed what is necessary to prove it. “Sailor Of The Salvian Seas” recalls the early days of metal and intertwines with shape-shifting stoner rock to form a crushing down-tempo rhythm. The album concludes with the stunning “Ode To Almalthea,” a nod to all things free; totally blissed-out, bending and weaving, dynamic celestial jamming. It is the very essence of La Otracina: a rich blend of styles brought together in perfect harmony to form something completely unique. With Tonal Ellipse Of The One La Otracina have created perhaps the best and most-complete album yet of any band in the current NY underground psych movement. I urge you to buy a copy and see for yourself.
(Tonal Ellipse Of The Sun should be available everywhere June 4th on Holy Mountain)
