Short Reviews [Baku Llama - 2007 - "Devour My Evil Dream"]

BAKU LLAMA is an American (California-based) trio who released two albums in 2007. In the press release "Eris" is cited as their first brainchild, but since it's "Devour My Evil Dream" which was released first, it would probably be safe to regard the latter album as their unofficial debut. Musically the trio seems to draw their influences from only a couple of styles and artists alike. Most of the songs are structured in a way that makes me certain that they're well familiar with German school Spacey Psychedelic Rock (some calling this style Krautrock, i.e. just German Rock), while the extensive use of synthesizers suggests they're no strangers to E-music as well. Keyboards provide atmospherics that seem to be dreamy and reflective on the one hand, but on the other have quite a distinct dark quality to them. The guitars are a weak point, since they have a dirty, gritty and raw sound everywhere they're used, although they are played predominantly in a very mellow manner. To have a closer idea of the music, imagine something halfway between Vangelis and Amon Duul II, but which is recorded with poorer studio facilities. Four of the disc's nine tracks (the first and the last two, to be more precise) are not my cup of tea, to say the least, while the album's core pieces are quite interesting, at least as regards the style(s) they belong to.

OMB & VM: February 1, 2008