Al Cisneros of Om and Sleep Dismas / Version

Bassist/vocalist for heavy music's most methodical and verbose purveyors of polysyllabic lyrics, OM, AL CISNEROS has just released a solo 7 on his own Sinai label. If you've immersed yourself in OM's latest mystical, mantric, metal-free works, God Is Good and the Afro-Arabic-leaning Advaitic Songs, 'Dismas' won't come as too much of a surprise. While the label copy implies that 'it could be a tribute to Alice Coltrane's World Galaxy album in the form of a reggae 45'-a truly exciting prospect-'Dismas' strikes me as more of a languorously tense strain of the sort of lysergic dub coming from WordSound artists like Scarab, Equations of Eternity, and Qaballah Steppers in the '90s. Whatever the case, Cisneros has created a real gem here. Various holy men intone god chatter ('The lord is the supreme reality/Om shanti shanti shanti,' etc.) over a sumptuous spread of resonant, sinuous bass peregrinations, vibraphone, cello (?), congas, and tablas. Everything is ergonomically optimal, precisely arrayed, and spiritually centered. The B-side, 'Version,' is slightly slower and more spacious."-Dave Segal (The Stranger). Packaged in white paper sleeves.