Harvesting set of ritual brain clamour, drone-chuff and synapse chauffeuring blitz from this free-improvising big band consisting of members of Pelt and Rake. This inter-band ensemble blew across the States a bunch of times during their short existence – 1996/97 – and this limited to 330 copies vinyl LP is a beautiful document of their scorching style, an extract from a two-hour performance at Tommy’s in Richmond in April 1997. The line-up is: Mike Gangloff (guitar, shenai, electronics), Jack Rose (lap steel), Patrick Best (guitar, bass resonator, conga), ~SKB (bass and percussion), V2G2 (nylon string guitar, percussion, shenai and voice), Planet C (moog, sax, percussion), Mick (dumbek and dijembe), Beth Jones (dijembe).

Very few groups – any? – have picked up on the blueprint laid down by the ‘classic’ Pelt line-up, where they took on the mantle of the Hillbilly Theatre Of Eternal Music, making overt - like no one outside of Henry Flynt - the common sonic properties shared by psychoactive minimalism, modern raga forms and classic American Primitive. Spiral Joy Band formed in the wake of Pelt, featuring both Mike Gangloff and Mikel Dimmik of that group alongside Amy Shea and Nathan Bowles and they posited a potentially more radical take on Pelt’s no-mind country blues, using very minimal- though profoundly amplified - gong and percussion suites in order to activate visions of the kind of blank American topography of mid-period NNCK, Harry Partch and Harry Bertoia. Pleasure Is The Headlight presents a deluxe, beautifully packaged double 180g LP in a run of 400 copies in custom gatefold jackets with letter pressed cover art and silk screened innards inspired by the Rev. A W Nix’s “Black Diamond Express To Hell”. Three sides of foggy, thunder tones, singing strings and hypnotic country reverie and a final side of oddities, including a live solo wind chime performance and a Taj Mahal Travellers-style beach performance. Excellent and by far the best release from this group to date.

Zoned bluegrass moves from Pelt offshoot The Black Twig Pickers featuring Mike Gangloff on fiddle and banjo, Isak Howell on guitar and mouth harp and Nathan Bowles on banjo and washboard. Here they’re joined by Charlie Parr on resonator guitar and vocals for a version of Parr’s “Where You Gonna Be (When The Good Lord Calls You Home)?” and a cover of the traditional “Stepback Cindy”. UK tour 45 in an edition of 400 copies.