Album Details

• Artist: Diza Star & The Pink Ladies Blues
• Album: Contact High
• Label: Fractal
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2008-05-09

Psychedelic and progressive blues meet head on in Diza Star, creating bright, swirling shiny beast that occasionally drifts into heavy waters. "Contact High" is the band's fifth release, and these Japanese dreamers have added another paragraph to their warped history of recorded ecstasy. Too much? Not really considering that the band has always tried, with volume down low or cranked through the ceiling, to reach for a peak where all is positive and where sheer sound can change the world. Dope helps, too, and the more trippy aspects of the disc recall the 60's as much as they aim beyond tomorrow.

The 14 tracks cover ground between post-rock ("Edgar Allan Poe" "Super Pari Sur") to more mellow fare. "Shinjuku Blues (alcohol in the blood)" is ambient and hypnotic, like a drunken wait in a subway station; "The Cat Hit The Wolf" is similarly disorienting and minimal, but with less effect.Based on a similar stoner riff, "Rendezvous Amphetamine Street" and "Diza Star Meets Clovis Trouille" are probably the highlights of the set, reaching majestic peaks with ease.

"Contact High" is a tasty treat for fans, and a great intro to Diza Star for newbies. This is a tight, sustained release whose tracks nevertheless allow for lots of air and open spaces, which are usually filled by sonic goodness.

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