Odyssey Cult, The

Odyssey Cult, The

Vol. 3

Silver Current

“The Odyssey Cult Volume 3 ignites visceral fires of fuzz, pumped-up motorik, shimmering noise and hazy vocals, just in time to send up the last intoxicating smoke of summer. As for those of us still piecing our skulls back together after the ecstatic ’90s-pummel of Ethan Miller’s previous project (the zonked supergroup of Orcutt Shelley Miller), we forgive ourselves for not anticipating this, a meltdown-psych re-fusion of Ethan and Ben Flashman, two of the principals in Comets On Fire, the premier purveyors of early-aughts American guitar mayhem. “Featuring Ethan Miller (Howlin Rain, Heron Oblivion) on guitar, loops, vocals, Ben Flashman (Comets On Fire) on bass, Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) on drums, Anthony Taibi (Carlton Melton/White Manna) on keys, Zoh Amba on sax and Brigid Dawson (OSEES), Paula Frazer (Tarnation), Inna Showalter (Magic Fig) on vocals. “Miller and company layer psychedelic murk of the highest order into a neon rock monolith, its components spanning coasts and generations of musicians. Depending what angle you look at it, Volume 3 glitters with facets reflecting all corners of sonic psychedelia, fusing the best of all post-hippy/punk eras, complete with earworms that sound equally great by the pool, on headphones, or blasting in the sled cruising down the 5, the 10, or whatever freeway of your dreams. Whether or not you’ve heard Orcutt Shelley Miller, Comets On Fire, Tarnation, or the OSEES, this LP stands out like a life buoy (or, occasionally, a shark fin) in a sea of wax.” —Tom Carter

Odyssey Cult, The

Vol. 1

Silver Current

2017 finds Ethan Miller (Feral Ohms, Howlin’ Rain) in an extended creative burst of projects both musical and literary, and yet he was able to find the time to complete The Odyssey Cult, a highly personal, sprawling two-volume, solo electric guitar project. Four years in the making and his first solo instrumental guitar-oriented release, self-described as “amp melt and high volume ambient,” it is as indebted to the great minimalists and loop pioneers as to guitar-oriented Krautrock, cult film soundtrack music and the great feedback-riding, amp destroyers of the ’60s to present. Miller used Homer’s The Odyssey and Joyce’s Ulysses as abstract guides to create his own epic sonic narrative from an overload of information and material. A journey, an epic poem, a meditation, a long, rich dream that loosens all sense of space and time—ultimately confusing history, moment and self.

Odyssey Cult, The

Vol. 2

Silver Current

2017 finds Ethan Miller (Feral Ohms, Howlin’ Rain) in an extended creative burst of projects both musical and literary, and yet he was able to find the time to complete The Odyssey Cult, a highly personal, sprawling two-volume, solo electric guitar project. Four years in the making and his first solo instrumental guitar-oriented release, self-described as “amp melt and high volume ambient,” it is as indebted to the great minimalists and loop pioneers as to guitar-oriented Krautrock, cult film soundtrack music and the great feedback-riding, amp destroyers of the ’60s to present. Miller used Homer’s The Odyssey and Joyce’s Ulysses as abstract guides to create his own epic sonic narrative from an overload of information and material. A journey, an epic poem, a meditation, a long, rich dream that loosens all sense of space and time—ultimately confusing history, moment and self.