Skyline Pressure is the latest release from desert rock conglomerate Ten East, an instrumental project of musicians from the West Coast of the US who perform an experimental/jam/prog/stoner/psychedelic mish-mash of sounds that bobs, weaves, lurches, and meanders across eight tracks on this new album. Kind of hard to compare these guys to anything, as there are so many styles and textures going on here, but as the songs are long and without vocals, unless you are a fan of far reaching instrumental music, chances are your patience might be tried a bit as you make your way though the many lengthy pieces. "Tangled Forest" might just be the best of the bunch, a dramatic, bubbling beast that combines stoner riffs with psychedelic noise, the guitars menacing (including some sizzling slide guitar) and the rhythms plodding. Sure, extended tracks like "Daisy Cutter" and "Sonars and Myths" have some pretty cool moments of cacophony where the band really cut loose or throw in some hefty, brooding atmosphere, but there's a sense that much of what's on display here is a tad directionless, and overly long. Skyline Pressure could have used a good 10 minutes of trimming in my view, which would have left a very solid album with lots to recommend. Still, this one is well worth a listen.
Track Listing
1) Daisy Cutter
2) Eye Soar
3) Historical Graffiti
4) Planet Blues
5) Skyline Pressure
6) Sonars and Myths
7) Stalactite Dip
8) Tangled Forest