Hyper-fluid, dub-rhythm masterclass from Holy Tongue on what they’re officially calling their second LP, but could reasonably be understood as their third or fourth in an ever-growing line of fired up activity in a short period of time. The trio, comprised of Al Wootton, Vanishing Twin’s Susumu Mukai and Valentina Magaletti of pretty much everything and anyone else, have done plenty since first emerging in 2020 with that startling EP on Amidah, and that familiarity with one another shows on Basilikum, a highly confident, counter-intuitive genre splice-n-dice that sees them move restlessly between dub, krautrock, improv and post-industrial klang in a haze of busied polyrhythms and blistering electronics. Formally, imagine, say, a contemporary re-conception of Wolfgang Spelman’s short-lived but somewhat mythical Plaza Hotel project through the debased vision of Conrad Schnitzler, and in terms of energy, it’s possessed of the same percussion-fwd, breakneck invention as the Natural Information Society or the increasingly classic Ambarchi/Fell/Guthrie/Shalabi collaboration, Oglon Day. Which is to say that this deeply impressive off-piste thinking applied with great skill and verve, all three players ardently committed to the vision. You may struggle to catch your breath here. Basilikum is so locked-in and wide in scope, you’ll reasonably wonder how Holy Tongue caught their own.
FFO: Valentina Magaletti, goat (JP), Natural Information Society, Ambarchi/Fell/Guthrie/Shalabi
