Titan
A Raining Sun of Light and Love, For You and You and You
Tee Pee Records
So I pop in this new disc by Titan, sight unseen, and making a snap judgment from the Sabbath-esque logo font, I settle back and prepare for some raucous stoner-boogie. And while the opener starts out pleasantly enough with some druidic fuzz-rock, suddenly it’s like the fucking curtains are pulled away to reveal fifteen more band members and six square miles of Marshall stacks. And the sound gets just HUGE and “’’scuse me while I kiss the sky” prismatic. Who’s the fucking fool now? Titan ain’t at all what I expected and they’re so bizarrely out of synch with prevailing trends right now, it’s mental. A Raining of Sun and Light… is full of muscular and intricate psychedelic (with a capital P, brother) explorations – I’m talking the real deal here – vocals are dispensed with, the rhythm section drives further and further to the heart of the sun, while the whole engine is powered by death duels between a guitarist and an organist (most likely wearing a cape of some sort). Think Mahavishnu Orchestra, Neu! (for the unrelenting charges), Yes, Legendary Pink Dots, Acid Mothers Temple, ELP, Pink Floyd circa Zabriskie Point and Syd, a hint of Toadliquor and Hawkwind. Sometimes it’s almost too much.
The guitar freakouts about seven minutes into Track 2 are so UFO Club, Be-in at 3am – totally unhinged and fried with a taut Mod-like backing. Track 3 starts like a raga drone and explodes outward with red sunbursts of echoing lead guitar and jamming Sabbath riffing with wandering keyboard incantations, fading into a coda of gently unfolding waves of calm and peace. Which in turn herald a spry almost Rush-esque beginning to Track 4, just drums and transient electronic transmissions and chiming guitar harmonics engaging in a tight dance to the stars. A fade out with several minutes of crickets chirping at the night sky? Do it!
Tee Pee Records: http://www.teepeerecords.com
