Sunn O))) & Pan Sonic / Alan Vega / Stephen Burroughs – Split 10″ (2009)

August 13, 2013
Sunn O))) & Pan Sonic / Alan Vega / Stephen Burroughs – Split 10″ (2009)

This is a nifty little split 10″ that I keep forgetting I own. It’s in a plain white sleeve with a stamp like a club 12″ and recently until I separated my 10″ and 12″s onto different shelves I would keep losing it in the pile of vinyl that I have. The choice of artists appearing alongside each other here is pretty varied, but there isn’t a shit song on the entire thing. It spins at 45rpm so it doesn’t last very long but it’s a nice little cross section into the work of the featured artists.

Side A is taken up entirely by Sunn O))) collaborating with Pan Sonic, making a slightly more higher pitched drone than usual, complete with brooding vocals and creepy as shit synths. The fat tones just build and build and then about half way through this full-blown organ-sounding synth kicks in and the entire thing becomes so epic that it’s just bloody brilliant.

Side B begins with a fellow named Alan Vega, rambling on about “13 Crosses” over and over, accompanied by some spazz-happy electronics and a rabid audience. The first time I heard this I didn’t like it, but it eventually grew on me. Last but not least, Stephen Burroughs sings us a mournful tune with just an acoustic guitar. “Goodbye Darling” is a slow, sorrowful track that starts off great but kinda loses it’s way towards the end. It’s a great song, but I just think it goes on for too long. Also, I just can’t shake the thought that it was sound a thousand times better being sung by Michael Gira.

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