Vol. II

AMG Review of Vol. II

Ned Raggett
All Music Guide

Like its similarly titled predecessor, Vol. II was first sold on the road, in this case during the band's amazing tour with Mogwai in late spring 2001. As with Vol. I, Vol. II consists of outtakes and improvisational experiments recorded at the band's Lemur House rehearsal/base of operations in Philadelphia. Those who are fond of the group's sheer power live will likely find this release to their taste, though they should be warned that this is, after all, stuff Bardo Pond initially didn't think would go down easy on the real albums. Unlike some of the near white noise work on the first collection, though, Vol. II generally focuses on Bardo Pond's driftier, mellower side, occasionally calling to mind some of the stoned work from their Hash Jar Tempo collaboration with Roy Montgomery. "Precious Metal" begins the collection on a fairly even keel; a low-volume, slow-paced number with Sollenberger's vocals floating in and out of intelligibility. "Took the One" will appeal to those who loved Set and Setting's combination of Sollenberger eat poetry and atonal, off-kilter feel, squawking sax (or the equivalent) the wild card on this particular number. The possibly more-than-one-recording, possibly not, "Montanasacra" is more or less the central piece of the collection, a 15-minute long zone-out in the finest Bardo Pond style. There's no flute on evidence, or vocals, but otherwise it's all of the band getting in there, starting out as a quieter sort of exploration before pouring it on. It's not quite the same impact as being at a Bardo Pond show, but it's as good a stand-in as any. "How's Annie?" is almost as long and easily as strung out, but makes its point in a much more low-key fashion, with a near-silent ambient midsection that's defined practically by a mere ghost of feedback if nothing else.