The breadth of sound that experimental rock band Sun City Girls
worked with exceeds most groups. Eastern modalities were always part of
their approach, but since the dissolution of the ensemble due to
percussionist Charles Goucher’s death in 2007, guitarist Sir Richard
Bishop has moved even deeper into this musical territory.
With his 2007 Drag City debut, Bishop worked out some musical
fragments with a variety of guitars, very rarely relying upon other
accompaniment. For The Freak of Araby, however, the guitarist
has opted for a full band. Considering how each Sun City Girls release
included every odd musical source adroitly, Bishop’s decision here
seems warranted.
Where acoustic sounds dominated at least a portion of his previous
band’s recordings, The Freak of Araby is overwhelmingly
electrified. “Taqasim for Omar,” the only track where Bishop goes it
alone, isn’t acoustic, but it apes that mood through its reverbed,
Eastern-flavored, Les Paul-guitar runs. It’s also the only slow tempo
song on the album — tracks like “Barbary” incorporate as many
Eastern arpeggios as possible into rock enthusiasm. None of this,
though, can aptly prepare listeners for the blowout that is “Blood
Stained Sands.” While related melodically, the bleating horns of the
album’s closer don’t have any antecedent here. It serves as a final
pronouncement of Bishops’ musical ambition, which should not be
ignored. (Drag City)
