Here’s a split album that will never cease to entertain.

Released on The Easy Subculture, The Birth and Death of the Historical Buddha features two experimental acts, Photon Band (AKA Art DiFuria) and xPoemsx (AKA Eric de Jesus of We Have Heaven, the dEALERS, xPlanet & Bethx, Mugface, etc), displaying their eclectic sounds across a single LP side each.

The Photon Band side is an exciting grab bag of various disparate sounds all collaged together like a manic mixtape of home-recorded demos and DIY rockers. Much like a classic Guided By Voices EP, you’re treated to punchy in-the-red garage bangers with spoken word segments and tape manipulations, then delicate acoustic ballads that segue into surreal Madcap Laughs-like pop excursions. Truth is, you never know where DiFuria will lead you next, and that makes for a wild enough listen that you immediately want to explore his discography more.

xPoemsx’s side features spoken word poetry, cycling loops of heavily textured guitars and minimalist lo-fi soundscapes. If Matt LaJoie’s extended guitar improvisations went for a dirtier, earthier sound, with more tape hiss and other sonic artifacts, then it might sound like the tracks you’ll find here (especially “Racing Toward Death (We Are All)”). This music is full of desolate landscapes, raw and biting winter weather and signs of green luscious life sprouting up through cracked asphalt. Hypnotic, elemental and a treat for all solo guitar heads.

This is an album that fans of everything from Sunburned Hand of the Man to GBV, Willie Lane and Daniel Bachman will surely appreciate. Check it out.

-KH