Iran

AMG Review of Iran

Ned Raggett
All Music Guide

An important release, and not just musically -- this turned out to be the first album by Muslimgauze for Staalplaat, the Dutch-based label that, with its sister company Soleilmoon in the United States, proved to be Bryn Jones' staunchest supporter, releasing the lion's share of his massive discography over the course of the 1990s and beyond. Only three songs long, Iran still deserves attention if only for the killer opening track alone, an extended remix of "Lion of Kandahar." It's a slamming song with a pulsating beat that alternately takes over then subsides back into the mix, as other drums and percussion play around it. Bells, drones, and synth strings flesh out the overall piece, at times doing a radical revamp of the core beat as well. As an example of Muslimgauze's radical fusion of styles, it's near perfect. "Qom" has its points, with a strange, echoing clatter providing the main rhythm among many as the song slowly but surely builds. I still falls a touch flat, however, against the brilliant opening track. "Intifadah" brings it all to a fine conclusion; cymbal clashes herald yet more throbbing beats, occasionally dropping many of the rhythm tracks in various combinations. Some nicely unexpected shifts in tempo are provided, as string and sitar noises, among others, slide out of the speakers.