The latest in a trilogy of albums, which were all sourced from the same sessions, I Just Wasn’t Made for These Set Times is the Dire Wolves (Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band) at the top of their game.
I have always found that the Dire Wolves were one of the few modern bands that genuinely channeled the spirit of Kosmische Musik. I don’t mean that they necessarily sound like a particular band from the Krautrock movement, but rather, they take some elements of different music styles from an assortment of various cultures, and then combine them together to create a sound that is entirely new and daringly unique. By doing just that, I Wasn’t Made… is a stellar example of the band possessing the very essence of Kosmische Musik.
The record flows with rivulets of scorched acid guitar lines, which navigate around nebulas of Moog, violin and the wordless vocals of singer, Georgia Carbone. Yet, the violin often takes center stage on this record, leading the band into beautifully hallucinogenic Central-European folk territories. In fact it’s this aspect—combined with the frequent laidback grooves that the band locks into—that makes this record perhaps the most mellow out of the trilogy.
A great example of this is the album’s closing number, “(Brother Lee) Womblife Blues,” which begins with a gorgeously haunting violin solo by Arjun Mendiratta, which seems to draw upon some deep-seeded despair. It doesn’t sound too unlike something you’d hear from a Marika Papagika 78. Yet the rhythm section (Sheila Bosco on drums and Brian Lucas on bass) pulls the song into a more festive atmosphere, with a stoned, chugging beat. From here, the tempo gradually accelerates as the rest of the band joins in, turning the track into a wild Amon Düül II-Canned Heat super jam. It’s one hell of a strong climax to an already impressive record.
Elsewhere on the album, wooden saxophones and mumbling synths tangle around each other to produce shadowy cosmic atmospheres, while Jeffrey Alexander’s hazy guitar licks charge with Bosco’s hypnotic beats. This is the abstract choogling that you didn’t know you needed.
To say that Dire Wolves have been killing it lately would be an understatement, but I Just Wasn’t Made for These Set Times might be their best work of the last few years. As of today, you can buy this record and see for yourself.
-KH
If you like what you’re reading, please help keep RCU thriving. You can show your support by becoming a Patron at our Patreon account or you can make a donation to our PayPal account below.
Record Crates United 