Double Leopards

The reigning gods of heavy drone’s growing populaces dropped two excellent full-length studio albums in the latter months of last year. Both are truly outstanding testaments to the oft-asserted legend that Double Leopards are leaders of the pack when it comes to peeling out dark, spiritually thick drone-scapes. If one of these albums were somehow superior — as they are almost indistinguishable —Out of One may be that one, as its two shifting side-long excursions were recorded by Samara Lubelski — a long-standing pillar of New York’s experimental music community — at the increasingly legendary Rare Book Room for the prestigious label/mail order service Eclipse. This is not to undermine Double Leopards long-anticipated album for Troubleman, however, because A Hole Is True (recorded in the Brooklyn band’s private Tar Pit rehearsal space) delivers a whole lot of what this unisex foursome have become known for — sludgy, vacuous, perpetually shifting torrents of heavy fucking ambient drone. In reality, it’s just four highly processed guitars and voices, but in your mind it’s an incredibly real sub-universe where spirits go to search their way back into life. This is music that creeps up the dark alleys of your subconscious to reveal strange new truths and perceptions. You’ll hear things you’ve never heard before in these albums, but not everyone will be able to appreciate this group’s profound restraint, which treats only the most expanded of attention spans. Regardless of their accessibility, Double Leopards have turned a new page for ambient music and drone alike.