AUGUST 1974

I thought I'd save my second review for one of my all time favourites. This appears on the famous 'Nurse With Wound' list of which I've heard about 90%. (The list contains around 275 of the most obscure, out there and and experimental bands you could hear before 1981). This certainly belongs on it. It sounds very similar to mid eighties Zoviet France who I imagine listened to this for inspiration.

There are no guitars, bass or drums. All instruments (mostly hand made and stringed) are fed through filters and effects creating a droning, swirling and weirdly surreal sound. 'August '74' doesn't sound dated at all and reminds me a lot of the atmospherics of Current 93, Schloss Tegal and Lustmord. It's really creepy and dark particularly when the dulcimer and vocals appear.

It's definitely their most accomplished work and a lot better than the dreadful 'Oz Days' album where the The Taj Mahal Travellers sound completely out of place with the other bands. This is a definite 5 star album in my books and probably in my top ten albums of all time. You'll probably have a really hard time tracking this down though - it's incredibly difficult to find nowadays.