A project that began way back in 1995 as a solo vehicle for the New York City artist Robert L. Pepper, Pas Musique has evolved into a four-piece these days with the addition of Jon V. Worthley, Michael Durek, and Jesse Fairbairn. On Psychedelic Talismans, the quartet covers electronic, experimental, and krautrock moments with a massive amount of skill and even more imagination.
“Splash Of Red Touch” starts the listen with a cinematic and prog-like quality that buzzes gently and with much mystery in it electronic and psychedelic template. “Collected Fictions Brightly” follows with a soothing demeanor that’s certainly ambient, nearly sci-fi even, and entirely fascinating as it embraces a dreamy climate. “In Likeness Of Me” finishes up the first half of the listen with an incredibly diverse track, where calmness, reverb and samples meet in a droning atmosphere that’s as unclassifiable as it is inviting.
The back half of the listen offers the dub-friendly and electric guitar-fueled desert rock of “ABC Of The Telephone,” as well as the beat heavy and immediately alluring “The Hour” where Pepper and company showcase their atypical chemistry. “Las Bas” exits the listen on one of the album’s best tracks, where Eastern ideas enter a hazy, sonically challenging display of violin prowess with much attention to mood.
A quick record at just over 30 minutes, Psychedelic Talismans has so many textures, sounds, and noises here, that you’ll likely discover new moments to love within each track every time you listen to it.
Pepper is also an artist in the area of oil and acrylic paintings, and his other musical projects include The Jazzfakers, Eyryx, and Limax Maximus. It’s pretty clear that he possesses much meticulousness in all areas of his life, and Pas Musique certainly reinforces that creative nature in spades.
