Torched transcendental guitar blues and psychedelic alchemy from string-based mage Jon Collin and now Glasgow-based Irma Vep.
If during our tenure there was a title of most underrated release we’ve ever encountered, this 2020 duo cassette on Jon’s exceptional Early Music private press would be top of the pile. Often released with such little fuss and supreme understatement, it’s easy to see how easily this could pass people by, but few releases of the past few years have left their mark as deep. Inside find six unadulterated variations on a particular strain of annihilated country-blues and scorched psych drones that give the feel of being carved out of the air around you. It’s often hard to tell who’s doing what, the two players somewhat telekinetically-fused into one in order to discharge tortured yet tender sheets of vibrating strings. The sparse and impressionistic Non-Human’s manages to hover just above the eye-line, exposing occasional flickers of melody underneath the smothered squeal, whilst Tremolo Jacket deploys Collin’s somewhat trademark quivering sustained tone into something equally hallucinogenic as it is soporific. First on the other side is ‘I Hope You Do’, which is sunnier by comparison, dancing over gently strummed chord progressions and lifting us out of what is otherwise a quite engulfing and inescapable suite of smothered psychedelia. Even the most inattentive followers of this store will be aware of our strong and enduring praise of Jon’s music but even by his regular high standards this one with Irma Vep is exceptional. Total stun grenade.