Praise for Sylvester Anfang II‘s Commune Cassetten from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records:  Latest collection of gorgeous drugged out free folk rituals from these Belgian freaks, and as always, it’s a fantastically weird and tranced out affair. Sonic ceremonies of shambling free percussion, layered guitar buzz, shimmery melody, and warped warbly drones, all woven into gorgeous occult psychedelica.

The record opens with a dark and mysterious bit of ambiance, swirling blackness, muted effects, ghostly melodies, tinkling chimes, spidery guitars, but gives way to a full on seventies kraut psych jam that almost sounds like Comus, all hand drums, and strummed steel string guitars, fluttery flutes (?), it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine stumbling onto some sonic coven in a dark forest, gathered around a fire, creating this dreamy din.
And that seventies psychedelic acid folk vibe continues right into the next track (and the rest of the record really), another hippy jam, all flanged guitar, motorik rhythms and swirly melodic buzz.

The second side begins with a druggy laid back meander, all wheezing organs, shuffling drums, detuned guitars, and mumbled chantlike vox, a shambolic minimal dronefolk that seems to be gradually melting right before our ears. The next track is a full on chunk of seventies style psychedelic buzz, a squall of buzzing psych guitar, pounding tribal drummage, druggy and dirgey and divine.

And finally, the record finishes off with part two of that krautrock jam from side one, this time way stripped down, a minimal kraut groove, laced with warped bits of melody, clattery spare percussion, crunchy riffs, drone-y buzz, all wrapped in a vintage lo-fi production haze, that makes this sound like it could be some lost kraut rarity a la German Oak. KILLER.

Pressed on CRAZY thick vinyl, with eye popping full color cover art.

At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.