Eternal Tapestry — Beyond the 4th Door

Portland's Eternal Tapestry are adherants to the time-honored tradition of improvised, delay-laden space rock which has included such diverse groups as Phish, The Acid Mothers Temple and The Legendary Pink Dots.  The journey of their latest release, "Beyond the 4th Door" begins deep within an open, slow moving trance-space (the first 3 doors already far behind), only to conclude even further into the distance.

Portland's Eternal Tapestry are adherants to the time-honored tradition of improvised, delay-laden space rock which has included such diverse groups as Phish, The Acid Mothers Temple and The Legendary Pink Dots.  The journey of their latest release, "Beyond the 4th Door" begins deep within an open, slow moving trance-space (the first 3 doors already far behind), only to conclude even further into the distance.

This group are specialists in blues-inflected, circular patterns that stroll lazily yet consistently towards the horizon.  They seem to feel immersion is best achieved by slow reiteration a single riff, and the energy shift from the beginning of a track to the end is actually quite subtle...  Rather than increasing in intensity, these riffs increase in meaning over the course of the 5 - 10 minute songs.  Like footsteps, the same movement in exact repetition results in forward motion.  Excessive thrusts into the stratosphere through extroverted soloing are nowhere to be found.

Playing these patterns is a meditation for these musicians.  The mood here is contemplative and unaggressive, with only hints of the world weary melancholy that the Pink Dots and Acid Mothers Temple see fit to combat through cathartic, violent purge.  It is as if the group seeks to bring us to an ordered and unalarming, yet oddly colorful abstract realm in which coherent philosophical thoughts and revelations are possible.

Songs often cut or fade abruptly between each other, but last long enough on their own to depict contrasting yet related environments and trajectories.  These tracks are much like excerpts or snapshots of a much longer journey, conceivably many hours in length.  This album is a respectable and listenable document of this larger whole, though surely, if these tracks continued longer than they do on this disk, as I'm sure they would in a live setting, the trance would only deepen.

The tempo of the music becomes even more sluggish during the final two songs.  Catatonic mesmerization ensues as the guitar timbres become liquid neon against an infinite black background.  The drum playing thins out to a sparse, gentle pulse not dissimilar to the rhythms of gently lapping surf, punctuated with shimmering cymbals.  The 4th track, "Reflection In A Mirage", in particular, sees the band giving into their customary fugue state fully, and for its ambient purity is the single greatest moment on the disk.  This indicates to me that the band might perhaps do better to increase the potency of their ambient qualities, rather than inhabit the middle ground between rock and soundscape that they currently do, since their rock elements lack a certain liveliness.

If I have one serious complaint about this album, though, it's that it's overly derivative, and brings little new life to the established (30+ year old) aesthetic it clearly adopts.  Every element here, from the occasional bursts of saxophone to the Eastern-tinged melodic structures and drones, can be traced back to this group's influences, who are undoubtedly more distinctive than this group.  On the other hand, in the face of the infinities being channeled here, however, this sort of thing is of little import.  One can still get lost in this sound.

Summarily, this music is beautiful but requires patience and concentration to really become engaging, and sounds fairly similar to other bands.  Putting it on in the background, it's pleasant but extremely easy to tune out.  Therefore, it's primarily recommended for people who admire improvised space rock for its ability to create a space, rather than its freewheeling adventurism or sheer force.  Those who've found themselves getting into other slow burning space rock like Melting Euphoria should understand it right away.  It's an enlightening trip for the patient.