“ … enough here to keep the repeat spins rewarding … ”

08/31/2022     / /

Led in different incarnations by the American ex-pat Eric Arn, now based in Vienna, Primordial Undermind are on to album number 11, their first studio work in a decade. An Imaginal Abydos begins with ‘Möglicher, Möglicher / Rekursiv’ which swoops and lumbers around like a cosmonaut in a tin-can spaceship, struck by asteroids, and trying to get purchase on a helpful-looking lever. Its ten minutes fly right by. ‘When I Was A Dune’ has a similarly anti-gravitational vibe. It vaguely flirts towards funk and dabbles a little bit in “Eastern” guitar patterns, while never ditching its key skronky base. ‘Jury-rigged, Makeshift Assemblage’ comes close to country balladry before growing more math-rocky. ‘Until They Break’ is like one of the Lee Ranaldo-sung highlights on a later Sonic Youth album. ‘Hermetic Armada’ seems to be Primordial Undermind’s take on groovy stoner rock. The set lasts just 40 minutes but they pack so much in that there’s enough here to keep the repeat spins rewarding, even if they take another ten years or so to follow it up. — JR Moores, The Quietus

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