Doomsquad

Kalaboogie

BY Daniel SylvesterPublished Feb 21, 2014

8
On paper alone, Toronto/Montreal three-piece Doomsquad draw ample comparisons to American indie cultists Prince Rama. Both are young, sibling-based outfits that create mystique-ripe compositions constructed around Eastern chanting and psychedelic ragas. But as Prince Rama draw from real life experiences (being raised in a Hare Krishna commune), Doomsquad uses the esoteric aesthetic more as accent than primer.

On their debut LP, Kalaboogie, the bro/sis group find themselves working with an otherwise blank stylistic canvas, building five- and six-minute tracks from layers of programmed tribal beats, synth waves, guitar feedback and haunted (often wordless) vocals. With just the album's centerpiece tracks ("Waka Waka" and "Born from the Marriage of the Moon and a Crocodile") resembling traditionally structured songs, much of this full-length finds itself expertly wading through dense sounds and moody themes. Kalaboogie stands as an album that understands the appealing modes of modern psychedelic as much as it strives to move past it.
(Hand Drawn Dracula)

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