Drunken Sufis’ latest LP, Pala Pala arrived January 20th, 2017 on lathe-cut vinyl, limited-edition cassette, and digital download via Bad Friend Records (Travis Morrison, The Caribbean). With the wake-up call of its first chord, Pala Pala signals the raw urgency of a new beginning. The wild polyrhythms and riffs that follow sound downright triumphant. There’s heady ambition afoot, but it’s delivered with an open excitement that turns contagious.
Like Lightning Bolt’s most colorful moments, or the high-speed adventures of Parts & Labor, Drunken Sufis push their instruments into the great unknown, tirelessly chasing the high of a new discovery. Blazing headlong through fast-and- heavy post-rock, Pala Pala collapses into a wash of homemade field recordings and melted keyboards. Sharply-arranged sound collages (remember The Books?) return to cosmic prog-punk, and Drunken Sufis keep moving. The non-vocal music leaves space for thrilling spontaneity, reckless drumming, and even guest spots-- Inokentiy Aksentiev and Craig Schenker add caterwauling sax, and Chris Cochrane (John Zorn, Collapsible Shoulder, Marc Ribot) lends otherworldly guitar. Where their last record, Cotton Candy Cluster Bombs, brought bite-size chunks of free-rock, Pala Pala dives deeper; the band stretches outward like Tortoise or This Heat, but they still sweat with the spastic energy of Brainiac or Deerhoof. A lesser band might lose itself in so many ideas, but Drunken Sufis surge forward with pure conviction. The line-up currently features John Thayer (drums, electronics), Craig Schenker (sax), Tommy Siegel (guitar, bass), Dave Cohen (keyboards), Keith Rigling (Electronics). https://drunkensufis.bandcamp.com/
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