The Invisible Pyramid

"This stunning double CD set features exclusive tracks from some of the current cream of the creamy. It's really one continuous listening experience, all of the pieces seem to segue into a natural organic flow. One of those compilations that finds the contributors at the top of their game rather than offering substandard B-sides. Karma's contribution features Mokoto Kawabata backing Roco as each manipulate guitars, and other sounds while supplying ghostly wordless vocals as they string up layers of delicate acoustics to set off slow electric fireworks. NZ sound explorers Flies Inside the Sun do a subtle spelunking expedition with James Curran guesting on cello. Fursaxa delivers an insular folk gem, while Birchville Cat Motel fill a hot air balloon with a swirling sounds and press it up against a plate glass window three blocks long. Pelt casts a thick reverberating fog that's filled with squealing metallic insects, the Iditarod do a chilly haunted version of In the Pines with wind blowing through high trees that becomes another song altogether, with Sharron Kraus guesting on banjo, and whistle. Thuja's Ice Caves seem to be carved out of swirling chunks of ice being juggled while percussion tries to start a distant motor, Kemialliset Ystävät feel like a cuckoo clock come to life. Reynols do an incredible four song suite, that recalls the most stunned Japanese spacemen, and ranks among the best things I've ever heard by these guys. Disc two kicks off louder with SubArachnoid Space blasting into a chunky outer space. Avarus levitate inside of a fuzzy wiggling psychedelic bubble. MCMS sound like Popul Vuh under 100 feet of ice as a lonely missile sings like a siren. Karl Precoda plays piano and tapes, while Mike Gangloff plays with percussion and electronics on the shimmering Japanese brush painting that is John Dee's Dream. Charalambides create these small cumulus clouds in your mind that distort time and gravity. Drona Parva flutter high in a trembling sky, while Mininokoto do an eight minute Japanese pop that sounds a bit like the rougher side of Nagisa Ni te. Omit chases poltergeists around a sinister swamp. Pylon sees snakes everywhere he looks, so he lives in a house made out of old cola bottles that cast a bluegreen light over everything. Sandoz Lab Technicians paint spastic mudflap houses in thin air and then move into them. Drona Parva do another short piece, this time reminiscent of Cluster. Bardo Pond do weird banjo invocation that gradually becomes Indian flavored. Black Forest/Black Sea give us stark atmospheric The Birdtree do an amazingly gorgeous sparkling dark folk thing. Peter Wright ends things with a gorgeous circling world of drones, bowed humming energy, and whirling motion called The Lightbox. The cover art is as cool as the music."
--George Parsons, Dream Magazine #4

"For the past few years now, we've been singing the praises of the Last Visible Dog catalog, which mostly consists of cd-r editions from the likes of Thuja, MCMS, Shizuka, Dead Raven Choir, and many other bands specializing in primitive electronics, droning lo-tech minimalism, or drugged-out psychedelic improvisation. Having recently made the jump to manufacturing real cds with their reissue of the Jewelled Antler project The Birdtree, Last Visible Dog now offers "The Invisible Pyramid" as a double-cd primer to their catalog, with *all exclusive* tracks from Thuja, Reynols, Charalambides, Omit, Birdtree, Fursaxa, Birchville Cat Motel, Karma (yet another Kawabata Makoto project!), Pelt, The Iditarod, Kemialliset Ystavat, SubArachnoid Space, Avarus, MCMS, Drona Parva, Karl Precoda & Mike Gangloff, Miminokoto, Pylon, Sandoz Lab Technicians, Black Forest / Black Sea, and Peter Wright. A wonderfully steady listen, "The Invisible Pyramid" fortunately doesn't suffer from the problems of most label comps, which are often filled with tracks not good enough to make it onto proper albums. Since all of these bands are SO prolific (just look to Birchville Cat Motel and the Jewelled Antler collective for evidence of the wealth of great recordings), getting great tracks couldn't have been that difficult a task for Last Visible Dog. The highlights include a massive four-part opus of space-fug from Reynols, the alienating electronic cryptography of Omit, the minimalist, sleepwalking strum of Fursaxa, and the wistful avant-folk of The Birdtree. Altogether, a wonderful compilation!"
--Aquarius Records

"In terms of definitive Broken Face collections, The Invisible Pyramid comp on TBF contributor Chris Moon's always fascinating Last Visible Dog label pretty much takes the cake. This wide-ranging 2CD set features a veritable who's who of artists that have been covered in the 'Face over the years, and to the typical fan of weird, raw psychedelia, that would make it a godsend. And anyone else attempting to broaden his/her horizons in terms of strange folk, jazz and noise couldn't ask for a better introduction into the outer realms. There's no doubt in my mind that the 23 artists/groups collected here represent as diverse and compelling a sampling of the world's finest experiemental, psych and free music you'll find anywhere. This review would be endless if I was to get too particular, but I will say that the Flies Inside the Sun track, featuring guest James Currin on cello, is devastating and easily among their most striking works. The acid folk soundscapes of Karma are revelatory. Birchville Cat Motel makes the third eye melt with the howling dissonance of "Queen Flat Sheet," and the Iditarod, with help from Sharron Kraus, turn "Where the Cold Wind Blows" into something that would make Jandek blush and cry at the same time. And there's so much more to dig into here with massive contributions from Thuja, Kemialliset Ystavat, Reynols, SubArachnoid Space, Avarus, Omit, Pylon, Pelt, Drona Parva, Bardo Pond, Charalambides, The Birdtree, Sandoz Lab Technicians, Peter Wright, MCMS, Fursaxa and onward and outward...Anyone even remotely interested in beautiful twisted noise should make note."
--Lee Jackson, The Broken Face #16

This is a special Last Visible Dog 2 CD compilation featuring the following artists:

Avarus
Bardo Pond
Birchville Cat Motel
The Birdtree
Black Forest/Black Sea
Charalambides
Drona Parva
Flies Inside The Sun
Fursaxa
Iditarod
Karma (Roco and Makoto Kawabata)
Kemialliset Ystavat
MCMS
Miminokoto
Omit
Pelt
Mike Precoda & Carl Gangloff
Pylon
Reynols
Sandoz Lab Technicians
Subarachnoid Space
Thuja
Peter Wright