I don’t know where your shamans come from, or if they play long neck banjos and have tattoos that can expel from their flesh cells and destroy all evil if need be, but around here we’re safe with the fact that Dan Higgs roams the streets.

Because I took a blood oath to follow all clichés when writing reviews, I will have to repeat that a common criticism of Higgs (former?) band Lungfish was that all the songs sound the same. And the common response would be “Yeah, but what a song!” I have to follow suit that with the exception of Higgs super challenging album of 14 songs of jew harp improvisations, he’s settled nicely into a set of long form raga’s, low key folk ballads where the lyrics are breathtaking and full of fire at the same time, and other assortments of more low key weird. The guitar work on this cassette especially is in a great form. The second track showcases Higgs organ playing with what sounds like a treated jew harp loop in the background and a possible kazoo induced ending.

Even the rowdiest crowds tend to tame their coke sniffing and skirt chasing when Higgs takes the stage. Maybe it’s out of respect, but I feel like it’s more to do with the spiritual invocations that he does bring to a performance. There is some serious intensity that he brings on every kind of level as an artist. I don’t suggest listening to this in one setting or alone in a creepy house. It takes time to digest and breath between the tracks. The baited breath feeling you have is common though, I wouldn’t sweat it. Just so long as you remind yourself that the apocalypse will not come once he’s done singing. It just feels that way. 9/10 -- Andrew Murdock Livingston (1 July, 2009)