Psychic TV - Themes 2

This second in a series of ritualistic music offers another dose of instrumental music that veers to the more experimental and varied side of Psychic TV, though in some ways it is also quite different from Themes. Whereas the first album consisted of ethno-forgeries on mostly acoustic instruments like clarinet, piano, bicycle wheel, and Tibetan human thighbones, Themes, Vol. 2 adds in far more technology, from tape loops to feedback. Much of the music on this album was composed for videos by experimental filmmaker Derek Jarmen. The album opens with "Loops of the Mystical Union," inspired by early 20th century classical avant-garde composer Alexander Scriabin. This fascinating track uses a loop from one of his orchestral works to create a long drone while squalls of guitar (violin?) feedback ripple through, and towards the end the feedback hits with buzz-saw intensity. Following this extreme the record goes into a completely different mood with "Elipse of Flowers," a relaxed, melancholic piece with guitar, chimes, and a slow primitive drumbeat. The piece ends on a disturbing note with a loop of some creepy mutated laughter, and the same loop continues on side two of the LP to create the base of a sinister soundtrack. Eventually the evil laughter becomes more distorted by echo effects and then this is replaced by looped chanting that becomes a bed over which an unidentifiable wind instrument and other strange sounds can be heard. This dark record is one of Psychic TV's more adventuresome offerings, and the CD even extends the tracks and adds a wealth of newer material.