Daniel A.I.U. Higgs - Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot

Genre indie-rock Publisher Thrill Jockey Records External Links Official Daniel A.I.U. Higgs Website Official Thrill Jockey Website

Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot is an instrumental guitar album, but not in the strict John Fahey or "Glenn Branca guitar army" traditions; maybe Don Fleming solo works as an applicable referent. Former Lungfish member Daniel Higgs wrings some dirty, filthy runoff from his electric ax here, dipping his stubbed fingertips into folk and noise and blues to create a listening experience that's wholly otherworldly yet totally familiar. On "Luminous Carcass Ornament," a torrent of John Weise-ish noise begets a flurried tangle of bruising, banjo-like riffery; the feedback-seared "Cocoon on the Cross" sounds like a sun-melted music box beating itself silly; a Hendrix smear of distorted pique, "Creation Moan" works itself into a bloody, gristle-y lather. But maverick closer "Hems and Seams" is Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot's roughshod, uncut gem. Slithering samples of streaming liquid segue into quivering, liquid-nitrogen "talking" dither, all simmering in what must be a sitar-induced din.