How Low Can You Go

The Heliocentrics “The Silverback”

The Heliocentrics’ A World of Masks is a record rich in texture and atmosphere, and though it holds together musically and thematically, the songs feel like worlds unto themselves. You get jazzy incantations, skronk horns over kraut psychedelia, funk mysticism, stoner polyrhythms, and hypothetical Isaac Hayes spaghetti western soundtracks. The most obvious influence is tipped off by their name – this is a band of Sun Ra heads, and his cosmic jazz aesthetic binds it all together. It was quite difficult to pick which song to feature here, but I chose “The Silverback” because I think it’s the most immediately accessible. It was the first one that caught my ear, anyway. That simple vibraphone hook pulls you in right away, but the rhythm is the truly seductive element. I love the way the music sounds as though it’s descending into some secret world, and at some point you can’t even hear that vibraphone part because you’re in too deep.

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