Les Rallizes Denudes - The Oz Tapes (Album Review)

 

Les Rallizes Denudes - The Oz Tapes

(2022)

My copy: 2022 limited remastered reissue on translucent blue vinyl by Temporal Drift.

A major draw to the efforts of Japanese noise/psych-rock band Les Rallizes Denudes lies within their inherent mystery - working only as a live act from 1967 to 1996, their only recorded material came in the form of live tapes and bootlegs spanning multitudes of shows. In collaboration with a U.S. based label, The Oz Tapes collects and redistributes live efforts taken from the underground Oz Studio in Kichijoji during the early ‘70s, displaying their take on the then new style of garage-rock as pioneered primarily by the Velvet Underground. 

Beginning with a brief, swampy atmosphere, the record proper kicks off with the almost surprisingly sweet “A Shadow Of Our Joy.” Those familiar with their more freeform noise experiments may be taken aback at these somewhat dry rock tunes, but agitation and torment is still ever prominent in the haggard slurring of frontman Takashi Mizutani. Their intentions are clear within the very first solo: teeter on the very edge of convention, tempting destruction as much as possible. And yet, garage/blues jams like “Wilderness Of False Flowers” fail to reach the sheer ferocity of other bootlegs (the most famous being the unofficial Heavier Than A Death In The Family). 

This rendition of their popular tune “White Awakening” does the song justice with its uneasy, dissonance-tipped progression further haunted by reverberating, euphoric vocal gasps. Most impressive is the 24-minute tirade “The Last One_1970” Which forces the bass to bear the weight of providing any semblance of orchestrated melody: a decision that yields ripe fruit in a fully hypnotic groove that anchors unstable guitar meltdowns as they topple like a runaway train. It is repetitive and indulgent; though perfectly so, convening a sense of psychedelic entrancement that the players are surely enraptured within themselves. “Memory Is Far Away” uses dreamy arpeggios and more obviously channels VU, which proves less interesting than their longform jams. 

Previously unreleased, “Vertigo Otherwise My Condition” is jagged and almost complex by their standards, strategically building pressure and releasing until the obligatory guitar solo burns everything to the ground. Closing on another 20+ minute session, “The Last One_1970 (Ver. 2)” is a faster, less mesmeric rendition of track 5, taking the spotlight away from the bass and placing it more dramatically on the ambitious guitar solos. 

Les Rallizes Denudes, apart from mystery, are a band of texture. Their live show gained its cult following for building impenetrable tapestries of effect-laden, ghostly noise - being conveyed partially in the many bootlegs that were passed around. The Oz Tapes does well for bringing further attention to this important branch of Japanese rock, but also fails to accurately catalog the band at their heaviest (perhaps for this being an earlier snapshot of their performance). There are still shining moments of raw, visionary triumph in the longer tracks - with the highest highs still leaving this record as a great choice as an entry point to the band’s style.