The Rock Blogger

Ulaan Khol. I and II. 2008. 5 stars.

Glorious psychedelic drone music from the prolific Steven R. Smith (of Hala Strana). Both of these albums are largely guitar based, sending distorted space-rock riffs through hazy ambient mist. Loose, jangly melodies crackle in the arid and ancient atmosphere, sounding like weathered field recordings from Mars. Light noise hovers above the drawn-out instrumentation, painting a beautiful autumnal skyline for the music to dance against. Chords warble and twist like the pitched lure of the snake-charmer.

Ulaan Khol manages to be epic and absorbing without building up steady cresendos or crushing finales - this music deserves meditative patience much like the venerable Natural Snow Buildings. These albums should not be described as walls of sound but more as bubbling streams of consciousness. The expereince is a deep and mysterious one, full of texture, nuance and cosmic wonder. Smith’s compositions wander and haunt like specters over a vast alien landscape, never reaching their destination, but content in their long, winding journey. Simply masterful.

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