Current 93 / OM - Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder)

Inerrant Infallible (Black Ships At Nineveh and Edom) is largely a solo-offering from David Tibet that continues his obsession with the black ship motifs, with a lyric referencing the bible, Reese Witherspoon and the tragic fall of the late Jhonn Balance of Coil. Its primitive approach recalls the harshness of early Current 93 and particularly the title track of their staggering Black Ships Ate The Sky release. Centred around a churning, monolithic riff and a rather rudimentary bass line it falls far short of Black Ships Ate The Sky, though Tibet is in fine vocal form. The wailing screech of the bagpipes is a nice reminder of Tibet's short residence in Scotland - where on trips home from the museums and parks of Glasgow's West End you could often spot Tibet and Joe Budenholzer on the Byres Road.

Om, meanwhile, offer up more of their progressive doom mantras. Dense, distorted bass and cyclical drum patterns converge in a drug-addled groove with Al Cisneros's sing-chant vocal incantations steeped in cryptic mythical and esoteric references. Towards the close it breaks free of the ritualistic chug, devolving into heavy, distorted riffing. There's a sense of spiritual trancendence about Om. Like on its predecessor, Conference of the Birds, Om remain shackled to a bass-drum groove that somewhat limits their psychedelic flights of fancy.

Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder) is available on 10-inch vinyl in an assortment on colours. A CD pressing is scheduled for September. For more information go to www.durtro.com or www.neurotrecordings.com