Om-Variations on a Theme

I'd hate to admit it, but as much as I have a hard time getting into what all the kids listen to, there still is a lot of new music that is actually pretty good. But one thing I'm a bit concerned about is how the internet has made people's record collection and list of influences are now more important than the actual music. Since so many kids now have never even held a zine, I think there's a move currently afoot to just use the internet to collect a bunch of albums without really putting much leg work into it. I think this convenience has led to bands with great tastes but albums that can never transcend their current musical infatuation. Maybe I'm just old and out of touch, but it's rare for me to find much joy in new music. There's so few new records that within the first track you can't name the five records they listened to while recording. And that makes this band so much more important. Both Al Cisneros and Chris Haikus have been around since I was wearing zubas, and yet, they're more vital now than ever. Their previous band, Sleep, along with High on Fire's Matt Pike, was super awesome. Their nearly an hour song Dopesmoker/Jerusalem) or whatever you want to call it) cleans my head out at least once a month. And while Sleep delivered the goods when it came to super stoned heaviness, Om is an entirely different affair. Drums, Bass, and vocal combine here for some really enlightening and elevating sounds. At times, it almost reminds me more of when Don Cherry was getting all Middle-Eastern. It's heavy for sure, but also melodic and trance inducing. It figures that the best music now isn't some dumb, over-hyped 20 year old. I say fuck the kids and their typical hats.

Here