I WASH MY SOUL IN THE STREAM OF INFINITY

The first album of My Brother The Wind introduced the dogmatic principles of this group. On this second record the core content of their spontaneous philosophies are provided to listeners with both better sound production and by firmer grip to the matured mutual improvisational performing collaboration. The band sticks mostly to one key harmony scales, and stir out most wonderful sonic prayers from these simple starting points.

"Fire! Fire!!" opens the album with solid abstract tonal space, from where the bass guitar starts to open the rhythmic imperative for other players. Raw guitar riffs quietly answer, and the sea of sounds starts to wave predicting the sacred turmoil of psychedelic rock raga. The melodic forms find their shapes, forming sacral state for the guitar to pray redemption from the heavens. Hazy winds blow over the freely voyaging musicians, pace keeping stagnant, but the intensity taming as the drums switch to a march-oriented sequence. Guitars echo both the starting theme and a new brilliantly shimmering layer of pickings. Mellotron creeps in to escalate the dramatic spheres of the coda, which closes the long process with sudden drop of all instruments. As an anekdoten, there is a neat video being spread from this session as an album promotion material.

"Pagan Moonbeam" continues with calmer moods, building from a single note for acoustic emphasized dharma-activities. Some vintage analogue synthesizer and sitar solo upon this sonic carpet, before the short oriental tune ends to tingling announcements of cross- rhythmic bells. This peaceful moment leads to more aggressively fuzzy acid guitar and powerful drum battering of "The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart". Melodies wander indecisively, giving so far the strongest associations of Wetton-era King Crimson live improvs, as the instruments search their mutual traits from the mysterious planes of neurosis. One fine detail I paid attention was the rapid single note pulses from a guitar, which were responded by the others, leading the whole piece evolving quite dramatically. Maybe the jam however ended to some unwanted directories or something, as the track is faded out as its tempo starts to decrease.

Following euphoric song for "Torbjörn Abelli" is really touching; A calm and sorrowful hazy elegy for a late gentleman, who pioneered the minimalist psychedelic rock at Sweden with most influential way, and was really ahead of time in global scale when considering psychedelic progressive rock music. Driven by the guitars, the song is again relating powerfully to spiritual context, which I sense very powerfully in this album and group, refers to these being present also in the album covers and written titles. This hopeful lamentation passes calmly towards the Nirvana, intensity of the aether growing ever thicker when reaching the broader levels of Samsara. Parallel guitar and bass lines start the ending process, which is conducted calmly, allowing the notes echo without haste to the infinity in the wake of Torbjörn's spirit. I really appreciate this homage, and believe the hypnotic power-approach developed by his groups Pärson Sound and Träd, Gräs och Stenar have certainly influenced also My Brother The Wind's spontaneous improvisations, along with the long jams of Baby Grandmothers. However the 1960's tones have not been replicated here in totally purist manner, and these sounds are part of today's sonic reality, carrying forth the torch from earlier generations along the sacred path of psychedelic illuminations.

The peaceful melancholia is cut powerfully by "Under Crimson Skies", which starts abruptly directly from a middle of jam, already been developing for some time before implemented to this record. This creates a strong contrast; an element which was used more strongly on their first album. Guitar practices interesting soliloquy bringing forth themes like phrases, and then answering them back, others creating a hypnotic groove for him at the background. The solo instrument and the group fusion together later, and slowly oscillating phasing mesmerize the scenario. These dreamy characteristics culminate to wonderful reverb-treated electric guitar psalm, conjuring long causeway of peaceful notes disturbing the ability of sensing time, and allowing an experience of transcendental cosmic harmony. From this long moment I got an association of some tamer acid rock passages of The Spacious Mind. These feelings lead to the album's title track, which is also the end of this journey. Soundscapes from the solace of fountain streams lead to the dominant jam rock characteristic of this record, holy mantra being weaved with guitar, ever repeating its calm and peaceful theme, and rhythm section supporting this progress steadily and monitoring situation for potential changes and reaction needs. The second guitar keeps firmly in creation of blurry background tones, painting a vision of colossal psychological state of hope. "Nothing ever dies". Background tones start to gain melodic forms, before the grandiose entity disappears back to the divine gardens.

I personally think the simplicity of the content of this music strengthens its power dramatically. It unites the sacral sense of style from the players, creating cantatas for sermons held in more earthly temples, where gigs of this group usually occur. Being privileged to witness one such concert, I felt this album was closer to that mass, which was certainly the musical highlight of my year. I can also claim so for this wonderful album, where the band has certainly developed to even greater heights from its fine debut record. Personally I am currently very open for this kind of music, allowing the flow on euphoric and logical sounds, which are yet surreal and solemn in their abstract form. Thus my sincerest listening recommendation of this album for anybody liking improvised spiritual music. The band offers quite much free streams of their stuff in though their web presence for sample listening, and in addition of these studio jams I believe there are some live gig recordings stramed freely from their Soundcloud page.