The press for the new album from Infinite River calls these folks "badasses" of underground music, and I like that. The players here -- Gretchen Gonzales (Universal Indians, Slumber Party, Terror at the Opera), Warren Defever (His Name is Alive, ESP Beetles), Joey Mazzola (Detroit Cobras, Sponge, Sugarcoats), and special guest Steve Nistor (Sparks, Ural Thomas, Seedsmen to the World) -- have earned respect by their own iconoclastic tunes in their respective outfits. And while their earlier release deserved praise, this one, Space Mirror, feels more assured. That seems strange to say about something that is a bit abstract and all, but it's the vibe I got.
Each similarly named number here opens up a window into the void, with fuzzy noise, feedback, and washes of sound swirling around a droning figure. While the first two tracks hint at a mood not unlike portions of early Spacemen 3 records (without the vocals), the sixth and seventh numbers here are more melodic. It's as if a progression has occurred, from noise to melody. And the hooks, such as they are, owe debts to artists as disparate as The Durutti Column and Neil Young.
For a record made up of noise, Space Mirror is remarkably accessible. Those looking for hooks will find them upon a careful listen, though they're not obvious ones. This is contemplative music, made rough in spots by a drone, a whirr of noise, a flash of feedback. But on the whole Space Mirror is an album of mindful, willful chaos harnessed and controlled by these players. There's a nothingness out there that they are pushing against and pulling down, but the resulting 7 selections are, frankly, lovely in their own outsider music fashion.
Space Mirror by Infinite River is out today via Birdman Records.
[Photo: Doug Coombe]