There’s no way 6majik9 could have emerged anywhere else than Australia. A loose (in both membership and sound) collective based around Michael Donnelly, head of the sadly defunct Music Your Mind Will Love You label, they are capable of mysterious shuffle/scuttle improv exploration, tripped out rock grooves, psych mayhem and much more. It’s hard not to think of Sunburned Hand of the Man or No Neck, but filtered through a distinctly Southern Hemisphere vibe. All three bands share a commitment to collective exploration while also retaining an earthbound organicity and sense of place. Even at their most spread out and hazy, 6majik9 never stray too far from their psychedelic modus operandi. Although it may seem paradoxical in a music so loosely structured, by not straying they demonstrate a massive amount of focus and determination to carry us away. And indeed this is music to lose oneself in, to submit to the nether worlds of altered consciousness. There’s a ritualistic quality to the music that gives the listener the feeling that he or she has stumbled into a ceremony devoted to conjuring long-gone spirits. It’s this ability to conjure other worlds that makes 6m9 resonate so loudly and so effectively. Never in a rush, the music ebbs and flows, offering plenty of space for reflection and immersion. Lesser outfits would build too quickly, would go for the easy narrative arc, would latch onto a clichéd crescendo. But these folks relish lingering in the expectant moments without pushing forward with any real insistence. It’s those moments which are echoed in the title, a perfect encapsulation of 6majik9’s approach to things. Only at the very end of the disc do things gain momentum into a more traditional rock groove. And even then, it’s the sense of restraint in the music that makes it so utterly unique.

The image of the village ceremony and ritual is only amplified when the sounds of a baby crying emerge to become a prominent part of the mix. Life is music for Donnelly and company, and everything is fodder for the trip. As it should be. Clattering percussion, washes of implied drones, strummed campfire chords, spidery psych guitar lines, tribal drums, a few synth squiggles, and occasional wordless vocals are the main tools at hand, but like the best alchemists, 6m9 soon take us to a place where the individual details are subsumed into a glorious whole that is warm, weird, fucked up, and nearly perfect. One of their prior efforts, “Rubber God Head” on Phantom Limb, suggested 6majik9 were on to something pretty spectacular, and a few listens to this release confirm all suspicions. A massively zoned out and beautiful recording that should be required listening for psych heads and those willing to be transported into new zones of consciousness. 9/10 -- Eric Hardiman (17 December, 2008)