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Duuude, Tapes! Bong, Another Dose

They’ve released no fewer than six live records since last year’s Mana-Yood-Sushai studio outing, and still, it would be hard for Bong to work any slower. I don’t recall exactly what the post was from the UK psych-drone mystics that led me to pick up a copy of their latest cassette, Another Dose (released on Washy Tapes), but chances are it was something along the lines of, “Hey, we’re Bong and we have a new tape.” Yeah, probably something like that.

For anyone yet uninitiated into the consuming aural fog Bong emit, the Newcastle upon Tyne outfit have been pumping out live recordings, EPs, splits, demos, and yes, even the occasional full-length studio album, since 2007 or thereabouts, and while their stuff is tonally heavy, the crux of its challenge is in the hypnosis of its drone and repetitions. You will wander into part of a Bong song — let’s take the 22-minute title-track that comprises Another Dose (program repeats on both sides), since it’s the topic at hand — and come out on the other end with little to no idea of how you or the band got there.

There are points at which it’s not unlike Tuvan throat singing with guitars, but there is movement taking place, a build being constructed at the root of “Another Dose.” The drums are a clue, and vocals — or at very least a steady hum/chant that sounds human in its origin — do come in after the progression has been brought to a certain point of psychedelic cacophony. You’ll hear a lead guitar before the five-minute mark, and that’s another signal. But in all my experience with Bong — you’ll absolutely never hear me say I’ve heard everything they’ve put out — it’s the patience and steadiness of their hand that makes what they do most impressive, like they’re right in the trance with you. By the time the 22 minutes of “Another Dose” are up, you might find yourself wondering why the band decided to stop there.

It’s head music for the headiest of heads, drone for the shamans among the converted, but if you can get down, Bong offer much to be dug — and often. The Another Dose tape comes in a hand-screenprinted package with the tape itself and two cards. One has the title on one side and Bong‘s logo on the other, and the other card has pictures of a fuzzy nugget on one side and mushrooms on the other. The cover of the tape itself, on the opposite of the logo side (shown above), is also mushrooms. Let that be a stand-in representative of Bong‘s general point of view. Drug in, drone on. They may just operate on a wavelength all their own for as long as they continue to operate, but if the rate at which they issue output is something to judge by, that suits them well. By the time it’s run its course, Another Dose has gone full-on stunning cosmic doom, and it rounds out just in time to start again on side two.

Bong, Another Dose (2013)

Bong on Thee Facebooks

Washy Tapes

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