The key track on Inland Sea is »Graut«, which at nearly nineteen minutes takes up the entire second side of the new Bitchin Bajas LP. It’s unclear whether the title is a misspelling of »Kraut«, but if so, it would fit perfectly. Here, the melodic grace of Harmonia, the Neu! beat, and the crystalline synthesiser textures of Kraftwerk’s Ralf & Florian era converge — with a flute thrown in for good measure. Bitchin Bajas is the side project of Cooper Crain, guitarist and organist of Chicago’s psychedelic drone band Cave — though by now, it’s arguably the project that has eclipsed his so-called main band.
As with their previous releases, the twelfth album finds Bitchin Bajas sounding slightly different once again, yet remaining true to their tempered sense of craziness — a space where psychedelia, minimal music, Far Eastern ambient and jazz intersect. The opener »Skylarking« lets its pretty melodies trip over each other until a saxophone takes the lead. »Reno« sounds like the instrumental version of a 1970s Italian pop hit, while »Keiji Dreams« drifts into ambient territory, its New Age synthesisers morphing into skewed drones.
Inland See
