Solitary Transmissions

Album review

Australian trio Brown Spirits play raw, free-flowing instrumental psychedelia that leans toward Krautrock, space rock, and deep funk influences. After releasing three home-recorded LPs between 2017 and 2020, the band signed to Soul Jazz Records and issued two limited singles that sold out immediately, previewing their fourth album, Solitary Transmissions. The group seem right at home on the same label as prolific Arizona-based unit Trees Speak, but that band's albums seem far more conceptual and sci-fi-inspired, and they also draw from a larger pool of influences, from Kraftwerkian electro to spaghetti Western film scores. Solitary Transmissions was performed by guitarist/sitarist/keyboard player Tim Wold, drummer Agostino Soldati, and Ash Buscombe, the band's longtime live bassist who didn't play on their previous recordings. Sticking with analog quarter-inch tape recording, the band scale the outer regions of the universe from the comfort of their own basement. "Space Race" jets forward with fuzzy guitars, levitating keyboards, and muscular drumming loaded with intense fills. "Dead End Exits" kicks into a higher gear, with a rocket-propelled rhythm and a resounding guitar melody that echoes off the satellites. "Ode to Dorothy" is slower, funkier, and smeared with heavy keyboards, ending up in a flurry of wah-wah fuzz. On "Seven 8ths of Madness," the band go hard on a knotty time signature and make it sound natural. While the trio get locked into the grooves during most of the album's tracks, the 13-minute space-raga finale "Who's at the Door" seems far more detached, particularly during its near-weightless middle section, and it doesn't have as much of an impact as the band's more driving numbers. Brown Spirits' music feels a bit rough and unpolished, but they clearly have an abundance of energy, and Solitary Transmissions captures a vibe similar to a private press acid rock relic.

© Paul Simpson /TiVo