Bardo Pond - Yntra (Latitudes Session)

Another week, another impressive Latitudes Sessions; this time it's the turn of space-rock types Bardo Pond. The band has been going since the early 90s and they've released a whole bunch of stunning albums; their sound revolves around washes of psychedelic noise, the liberal application of flute and Isobel Sollenberger's ethereal vocals. Yntra contains three tracks and clocks in at just over half-an-hour; like all the other recent Latitudes releases it captures the band in fine form.

'The Crawl' kicks things off with layers of feedback and a bassline which actually reminds me a little of Joy Division, if Ian Curtis and co had decided that spacey-psychedelia was the way to go. Sollenberger's wordless vocals seep in through the cascading noise like a ghost-in-the-machine; the effect is both disorientating and irresistibly hypnotic. 'Side to Side' takes things into more traditional (for Bardo Pond anyway) rock-riff territory, coming on like a particularly strung-out Black Sabbath. It's crushingly heavy but, as always, Sollenberger's presence adds something subtle and unquantifiable to the band's relentless layers of psychedelic sound.

Yntra closes with 'A Crossing', 20 minutes of reverb-soaked drone and seductively hypnotic noise. Don't just listen to this track through your woefully inadequate laptop speakers; put it on your headphones and get completely lost. This year's Latitudes Sessions have been consistently awesome and with Yntra, Southern Records have added another beautifully unique performance to their ever-growing catalogue.