Review Summary: A Dali-esque snake eating its own tail.
Synchromysticism the idea, is, as far as I can tell, a highfalutin crockpot of phenomenology, mysticism and psychoanalysis that I am far from qualified to fully pass judgement on. But in regards to
Synchromysticism the album, Yowie’s third full length LP, the idea seems to hint at the sheer complex weirdness of Yowie’s aesthetic; they propagate a hypnotic mesh of high-pitched guitar noodling, fluid drumming and wonky bass that defies predictability. The title is obviously somewhat tongue-in-cheek; with song names like “Ineffable Dolphin Communion” and “The Reason Your House is Haunted Can Be Found On This Microfiche” it’s clear Yowie aren’t under the illusion they’re crafting a highbrow ideological masterpiece. But it does hint well at the abstract intricacy they’ve composed.
Their guitar tone and playing is, simply put, unnerving, creating the same sort of offbeat demented feel that Daughters achieved on
Hell Songs, albeit more complex, and without a loud drunk Elvis bawling all over the thing. This lack of vocals has the effect of making the already vividly surreal all the more abstract, a confusing spiral of repeating technical spazzery with no clear meaning, which works seeming as the music is so immediate. The transitions are flawlessly abrupt – they just happen, and the immediacy demands acceptance and attention.
Synchromysticism is therefore paradoxically subtle in its assault on the senses in the sense that so much can go unnoticed that nevertheless provides an intrinsic part of the experience.
This isn’t surprising seeming as the synchromystic world-view “is that every-Thing in the universe is connected”. In this context it’s more like everything in the music is connected - even if it seems like Yowie are randomly throwing curveballs our way. Interspersed throughout the guitars’ surreal webs are irreverent bursts of staccato rhythms, like sharp geometrical shapes being thrown in and juxtaposed against the incomprehensible Lovecraftian architecture. But eventually these interruptions are assimilated into the whole, with Yowie coming full circle by way of a route you can’t really follow or comprehend, like a Dali-esque snake eating its own tail. In other words, it's going to take a long time for
Synchromysticism to fully sink in, or more appropriately, to unravel and display the ludicrous method to its madness.
