Sorcerer

Chronique

The first full-length outing for Mexican Summer from Tonstartssbandht (pronounced tahn-starts-bandit), Sorcerer finds sibling guitar-and-drum duo Edwin and Andy White dishing out a hypnotic three-song set that harbors some secret depths. Clocking in at just under 35 minutes, Sorcerer's willfully lo-fi, exploratory jam session architecture is pretty digestible, which makes the occasional sonic detour much more rewarding. "Breath" lays down a largely one-note net of delay-heavy noodling and aptly breathy vocals, but its jazzy overtones and easy warmth feel welcoming. The title track, with its nervy, proto-punk core, treads murkier waters and leans harder on the late-night, living room psych rock stylings of the duo's earlier outings. Sorcerer's final and longest piece, "Opening," which sports the album's most engaging melody and spirited playing, favors sonic contrivance over fidelity, allowing pretty much everything to start clipping halfway through, but it's a compelling enough performance that one wonders whether or not the take was just too electric to discard.

© James Christopher Monger /TiVo