[Sidebar] The Worcester Phoenix
November 14 - 21, 1997
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*** Bardo Pond

LAPSED

(Matador)

Welcome to the psychedelic underground, where self-indulgence, volume, and torrents of guitar noise wash your eardrums in an expanse of textural bliss. Philadelphia's Bardo Pond deliver an exorcism of sorts via billowing, effects-laden sonic canvases from guitarist brothers Michael and John Gibbons. Bolstered by a strong rhythm section, Lapsed reins in the group's earlier elongated meanderings without sacrificing passion or grandeur. There's majesty in the soaring opener, "Tommy Gun Angel," which is kind of a heavenly interpretation of the Clash's "Tommy Gun." Acoustic and electric guitars tangle against vocalist Isobel Sollenberger's languid, distorted voice on "Pick My Brain." Bardo's past work earned them kudos as lysergic alchemists -- their last album, Amanita, took its name from a genus of trip- (also cardiac-arrest-) inducing mushrooms. Lapsed reaffirms their commitment to psychedelic explorations, particularly in epic excursions like the nine-minute sludgefest "Flux," and the 14-minute seduction of "Aldrin."

-- Mark Woodlief

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