Century Plants / The Qoast - Split (Deep Water CD-R)

Got a massive shipment in recently from Deep Water, and figured I'd start getting through em with this one as it features the oft-reviewed and deeply revered Century Plants. That it was a split with a group I'd never heard from only made it an easier disc to do, of course, and I figured this would be a good way to try and get back on the reviewing train... like I mentioned yesterday though, more to come in big numbers soon but it's gonna be few and far between for a few weeks here.

Anyway though, this disc is part of Deep Waters' split series, which features a couple discs of aural compatriots splitting time over a single disc. In this case, Century Plants open things with two tracks before The Qoast get the last word with an extended blast themselves.

The disc opens with Century Plants' "Flashes," a duel guitar workout that's heavy and airy and expansive. On the track's comparatively brief six-plus minutes, the unit manages to say more than most do in far more time, displaying again the close musical relationship that Hare and Hardiman have managed to cull over what is quickly becoming an intimidatingly large discography. The following "Dissolve," at three times the length of the first track, gives the unit even more time to sprawl out, stretch back, and spew sounds. Opening with some pretty garage-y licks, the work soon turns toward psyched-out guitar mangling riffery that burns and burns, never losing steam as it barrels toward some infinite blaze of glory. Wonderfully paced as always from these guys, as they again display their ability to take a tiny idea and expand it into oblivion.

Hailing from across the Atlantic pond, The Qoast are a French unit who has also recorded under the Ghost Brames moniker. Mixing drums and guita, the unit's 23-plus minute journey is marked by a woozy, drifting quality whose overall effect is far removed from the thick guitar drones laid down. It's a menacing tone, but played with a delicacy not often used in such an atmosphere, giving it a certain journeyman's sheen. The thudding percussion drives it outward, pushing it towards a sound that falls somewhere between Century Plants' own guitar wrangling and a unit like Second Family Band's tribal prog. Beautiful work here, all the sounds slip into one another as it bends back and forth over a relatively constant central mood before opening up into a lulling gentleness. Nice disc, and the first of many to come from this label and more (hopefully) soon.