Adrop

Having overseen the Modern Containment series of releases on their Three Lobed Recordings label, it makes sense that Bardo Pond would contribute an entry of their own, thus the release of Adrop. Interestingly, it parallels their earlier 2006 release Bardo Pond Presents: Sublimation in being more of a self-contained compilation of recordings done by different incarnations of the group rather than as specific separate group or solo projects. Divided into three parts but mastered as one long track, each section blending into the next, only the second part, "The Rebis," features the full five-person version of the band as it stands. Isobel Sollenberger concentrates on violin this time around, while guitarists and brothers John and Michael Gibbons and the crack rhythm team of Clint Takeda and Ed Farnsworth create another powerful, looming crunch through their near patented brand of sludge rock. Opening the disc is "Invisible Fire," which consists of the Gibbons brothers, Takeda and, interestingly, drummer Jason Kourkonis instead of Farnsworth. Perhaps even more perversely, John Gibbons is credited as playing "cumbus," but whatever salacious associations are implied, the piece is a low-key and open-ended exploration of sound, Kourkonis adding a variety of fills and hits here and there as drone guitar parts and buried noise squalls fill out the remainder of the mix. Concluding Adrop is "Latona," featuring Sollenberger on flute and, in a nice switch, the Gibbons brothers on acoustic guitars and percussion. It provides a gentle, calm end to an enjoyable disc; if not one of Bardo's most essential releases it still shows the group in fine overall form.