MEGARITUAL

Megaritual is a pretty interesting album for the way it seems to embody both some of Omar's most subdued and erratic sensibilities in the one place, being this bizarre, spacey jam session grounded by groovy Latin rhythms and sections dedicated to his signature frenetic playing style. Despite this, there's not really too much that separates Megaritual as a particularly essential or unique ORL album due to the fact that its identity feels as if it hinges on elements of his previous works without trying to bring a new or even refined take on any of it, with even the way it blends the 2 extremes of his material feeling a bit slapdash. This isn't a bad album by any means, it's got some neat textural stuff going on with its tamer moments and tracks like Screaming Babies Inside Out really represent the way that even some of the less essential Omar albums have a few songs with some killer rhythmic elements to them. Overall the sort of album that feels only really worth listening to if you're already a big fan of Omar Rodriguez Lopez, it's good but really, there are just better albums of his that you could be listening to instead.

Best tracks: Screaming Babies Inside Out, Dead Hisses to Match Our Own