BLIND WORMS, PIOUS SWINE

Admittedly, when beginning on the IPECAC recordings with ORL, I wasn't expecting a whole lot to reach the level of greatness that Sworn Virgins had displayed, let alone for such a feat to be achieved a mere 2 other albums into this series, but yeah, this absolutely fits that bill, albeit with an extremely different approach to what Sworn Virgins had in mind. Similarly to Corazones, this shows Omar taking on a far more pop-oriented approach to his songwriting, but instead of the distinct tinge of indie rock that was present there, he goes in a more psychedelic direction, bringing in some light electronic elements along with once again making use of all sorts of vocal effects, with the interesting difference of them certainly not being utilsed to the same extent as normal. It leaves the album in this great middle ground of sounding quite strange while still having that grounded side to it that complements the style well. Songs like Vanishing Tide and Lights showcase this particularly well with the way they have such clear, beautiful melodies thrown onto a backdrop of vaguely uncanny soundscapesthat serve to elevate the listening experience. The curveball of the final 4 tracks being this instrumental suite that is far more conventionally prog was also a cool think to see, especially given how strong their sense of momentum was thanks to that repetitive bassline, closing the album in an unexpected, yet undeniably welcome way that added another layer of idiosyncracy to it all. The album that I'll recommend people who were disappointed about The Mars Volta's self- titled album and wanted to see a more interesting take on pop from them, even though this album only has ORL on it.