The man behind the French one-man project Tamagawa isn’ disclosed, although his Myspace offers the initials B.G. That’s fine, considering the arcane nature of these songs. Its title roughly translating to “later the same day,†this album is available as either a nine-track CD or, oddly, a free two-track download with three bonus tracks. It’s primarily guitar(s) played over synthesiser loops and drones, but with plenty of freedom within that setup. Indeed, there have been comparisons to everything from Earth to bluesman Charley Patton, and one is as likely to hear Roy Montgomery, Azusa Plane, or Fripp and Eno.
Mostly around five minutes long, these tracks are nicely dreamy yet somewhat cautious in their unfolding. “Midi Brulant’s achieves a balmy psychedelia from its drones alone, while “Celulle Souche’ has an almost subliminal twang dwelling well beneath a brighter melody. There are often at least two main parts going at once in these compositions, which can range from subversive to gnashing to blissful. On that last note, several are quite melodic and would be easily accessible to drone newcomers. For the most part, Tamagawa settles into a hypnotic, wavering groove that’s awash in various phantom elements. He’ not dead set on going anywhere in particular, but the journey is the thing.
Doug Wallen
