LES RALLIZES DENUDES - Mizutani LP (colour vinyl)

Limited edition coke bottle green colour vinyl. Black wax also available.

Includes OBI strip.

From start to finish, this is a very patient album. Mizutani is clearly meant to be listened to as one long piece, which works to its benefit in a suspenseful, teasing manner. For example, the first half of this LP is the longest I think Denudes have ever gone without introducing noisy pedals. It begins with lush plucked guitar and pleasant chanted vocals, and so it stays until the fuzz pedal kicks in, and then it's off to the races. If anyone knows Les Rallizes Denudes, they know that once they start jamming, there's no coming back.

To which even studio albums are no exception, as evidenced by the 22 minute Lou Reed homage that is "The Last One", and the relentlessly steady rhythm guitar riff for most of this track that nails itself into your brain and just keeps on nailing, layered in various levels of the mix as the colossal lead guitar solo's for what seems like an eternity. But damn, when it comes to guitar solos, Takashi and Makoto are Miles Davis's: masters of improvisation, to the point that it seems crafted.

While Denudes seem almost creatively strangled by their love for The Velvet Underground, this album makes a leap beyond that with some beautiful minimalism and expert fuzz pedal rhythms, making this a standout above most of their live records, and definitely worth a listen.