Six Organs of Admittance: Ascent (Drag City)

Six Organs of Admittance

Ascent

Drag City

Aug 22, 2012 Six Organs of Admittance By Hays Davis

Ben Chasny vehicle Six Organs of Admittance has been tagged “new folk,” and the acoustic elements, gentle drones, and low-key vocals of 2011’s Asleep on the Floodplain amply supported that description. Those anticipating the release of Ascent based on Chasny’s approach with Floodplain, depending on their tastes, may come to see his last album as jarring misdirection or the new one as a wickedly welcome change of pace.

Closer to his work with Comets On Fire, here Chasny plunges headlong into psych-rock, and he breaks a real sweat when he’s not reaching for the next dimension (and sometimes during). Opener “Waswasa” hits the ground running, with Chasny soloing like his life depends on it over a hard-rock chug that would make Queens of the Stone Age blush. Tracks like “They Called You Near” and “Solar Ascent” slow the proceedings while bumping up the trip-o-meter, and just before a listener might start to nod, Chasny launches toward the sun with the full-band blitz of “Even If You Knew.” (www.sixorgans.com)

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