OK, but how long before we can get Timothée Chalamet to play Dylan Carlson? With Jim Jarmusch directing. Imagine that. Slo mo shots of an old tour van rolling through the pacific north west. Visual sustain. We may need to be patient but patience is a basic requisite for fans of Earth. Right now the band is on tour, playing new material we’ll no doubt get as part of a new album at some point down the road. Meantime, here’s a live recording from almost a decade ago to keep you ticking along.
On one hand, you maybe don’t need an(other) Earth live album, but on the other hand, they get to the heart of the band’s music in a very direct way. This slow, steady, flow of sound that takes you with it, pushing away distractions, as meditative as it is overwhelming. WEM Dominator was recorded at Koko in London’s fabulous rock ‘n’ roll amusement park, Camden Town. There is virtually no crowd noise on it at all, which might be because they were opening for Neurosis and the crowd were just SO respectful/disinterested but is most likely just that it’s gone direct to the board. So in that sense it sounds very ‘clean’, just the band playing in a nice old theatre.
There’s a couple of tracks from Primitive and Deadly, a fairly early version of ‘Descending Belladonna’ from Full upon Her Burning Lips and, like the Live at Third Man Records album they did the following year, the set begins with ‘The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull’ and ends with ‘High Command’. ‘Bees…’ is really a stand out of their catalogue for me, it feels vast and elemental, wide screen and undeniable. The version here has some sharper edges on it, it’s rougher and more powerful than on the album. They stretch it beyond twelve minutes but it’s never less than compelling.
On record ‘There Is A Serpent Coming’ is among the few Earth tunes to have vocals, Carlson foregoes them here allowing the dragging riff to circle centre stage, unwinding, seemingly subtly different at each turn. Likewise ‘High Command’ loses its vocals about nodding out watching Nazi documentaries, picking up the pace to positively hard rockin’. At least by Earth standards.
Earth are a trio on this recording, the extraordinary drumming of Adrienne Davis joined by Jodie Cox on baritone guitar. The remarkable minimalist net with which Davis supports everything is a continual wonder but it’s Dylan Carlson’s guitar that is really the star of the show. Carlson has spoken before of how he views the amp and guitar as one instrument, of the interplay between the two being absolutely key. Named for the WEM Dominator amp, a favoured choice for the tone and volume on display, the album captures his mastery of his unique style in a vivid, gliding, roar. Massive and imposing, the sound is also warm and detailed. It’s a glorious noise to get lost in.
