No Hashish, No Change Money, No Saki Saki

MICHAEL GIBBONSとJOHN GIBBONSのギター・ワークを軸にしたヘヴィなジャム・セッションをトレードマークに 多大なディスコグラフィーを誇るフィリー・サイケデリック・スペース・ロック重鎮BARDO POND。
彼らが1993年にブッキングやマーチャンダイズ用に作成していた 『No Hashish, No Change Money, No Saki Saki』という謎めいたタイトルのデモ・カセットが30年の時を経て初の正式リリース!!

Philadelphia psych stalwarts Bardo Pond issued several cassettes in the early 1990s before releasing their proper debut full-length, Bufo Alvarius, and reaching greater exposure with several albums on Matador Records. No Hashish, No Change Money, No Saki Saki first appeared as a self-distributed tape in 1993, then later as a remastered CD-R, and finally as a double LP on Three Lobed Recordings in 2023. Largely recorded at the bands Lemur House living space/recording studio, with a WKDU radio appearance and two live recordings among the track listing, No Hashish is a sprawling set of raw, rambling, blown-out jams strung along by Isobel Sollenbergers aching, detached vocals. While their later efforts would apply a degree of studio polish, sometimes letting the groups more melodic elements shine enough to resemble dream pop, this tape retains a straight-from-the-basement quality. The band essentially had their aesthetic down pat from the beginning, though, so even in this rough early state, their music was as freewheeling and bewildering as it would ever be. Starting with the caterwauling haze of "Hummingbird Mountain," the release elevates with the sweetly wistful "Sometimes Words" and the flute-laden, daydream-like "I Forgot." "Rupture" is the highest point, with Sollenbergers heavenly vocals peering through the stacks of smoldering guitars. The live "Candle Light" has a more raucous rhythm and almost metallic riffage, adding a spike of adrenaline. "Round and Round" is a turbulent, grainy-textured jam with more flute than vocals. Sort of a lost chapter in the bands history, No Hashish is a stunning trip back to where it all began. ~ Paul Simpson