Air Conditioning 'I'm in the Mountains, I'll Call You Next Year' LP
Like a crop-wrecking flood or one bite too many at a buffet, Air Conditioning
really hurt with their debut full length vinyl. While only three separate
recordings comprise this 40+ minute opus, each track separates into varying
temperatures and time zones, free from any artificial captivity. Riffs contract
and expand like the Mother Brain, missles flying through a two-dimensional
background. 'I'm in the Mountains...' provides an experience
holier than most sermons and more filling than most ales. The gatefold packaging
is a perfect home to this intimidating 12" long player; it's black and grey tones
sucking the color from it's surroundings.
There are 498 copies pressed, each on black vinyl with black center
stickers. Each copy comes in a gatefold cover. 20 copies were lost in the mail on the way to San Francisco,
10 copies were lost in the mail on the way to Atlanta, and 10 copies were damaged en route to San Francisco and marked as promos. There are 5 test pressings, each
with United "test pressing" center stickers. Each test press comes in a plain
dust sleeve without any sort of cover.
01 - Unravel Your Navel, It's Mardi Gras
02 - Heaven is a Solid, Hell is a Gas / Re-entry / Fractions of the Man I Used To Be
03 - Citizens Band / I'm in the Mountains, I'll Call You Next Week
Blastitude:
Super-soaked speed dirge. Stopped keeping track of Acid Mothers Temple? Mainliner
too monochromatic? High Rise left you feeling low? Well, why cross the pond? Sit
back and turn on the Air Conditioning, the skull-wrapping sounds of some all-American
yankees going to WORK. Judging from the picture that graces the handsome inner
gatefold (a gatefold?? nice!), this monster band is two guitars and drums -- maybe
this is what the Dead C would sound like nowadays if they'd gotten meaner instead
of sleepier. I don't know, one or two or all of these guys used to be in a more
straight-up noise group called An Oxygen Auction, remember them? This is total
speculation, but I think they were saying something to themselves like "I love gnarling
out with all this crazy noise but why can't we rock out with a drummer like we're
in fucking Hawkwind?," and then they heard/saw Lightning Bolt and Sightings and
were given the KEY. And they were able to use this key without having to MAKE A
COPY. (Get my metaphor?) Also, their particular knowledge of black metal is
tastefully assimilated (check the vocals on the third and last track, "Citizen's
Band/I'm In The Mountains, I'll Call You Next Year"). Pretty fucking heavy overall
-- one of the best new names on the 'heavy' scene out there in 2003 besides the
usuals (Wolf Eyes, the aforementioned L.B. & S., bands with Matt Pike in them, etc.).
Punk Planet:
This seriously sounds like standing underneath a hovercraft. Everything about this
three-piece is completely overblown, creating a surreal, yet oppressive atmosphere.
The production hinders the performance, but imagining this pounding fuzz in a studio
definitely scares the shit out of me.
Released September 2003. Co-released with Peel Back The Sky.
