Release date: 03/30/2004
Label: Mister E
Production: Orlando Allen and Zubin Henner
Length: 47:52
Genre: progressive rock / space rock
Rating: 9/10
For the eleventh studio project from the legendary international prog crew Gong, “Acid Motherhood” (2004), the eccentric Australian musician Daevid Allen completely tore down the previous version of the band, the one that cut the preceding album, “Zero to Infinity” (2000), and found his new members by merging Gong with some of the folks from University of Errors and the Japanese psych-heads Acid Mothers Temple. Hence the album’s title, and hence the most grotesque cover in Gong history, showing Allen with the body of a naked pregnant woman. This is a guy who tried most of the substances going back in his younger years, and the older he got, the loonier and more eccentric he became, which came through loud and clear in the music of the new Gong, too.
The big thing about “Acid Motherhood” was the presence of three guitars, handled by Daevid, Kawabata Makoto and Josh Pollock, and the complete absence of wind instruments, a first in Gong history. On drums, Allen’s son Orlando made his debut; he’d come back again on “I See You” (2014). Of the longtime Gong members, apart from Daevid, there was neither hide nor hair of anyone on “Acid Motherhood.” Only Allen’s partner Gilli Smyth turned up as a guest on the track “Supercotton.”
The opening piece, the short avant-garde psychedelic instrumental “Ocean of Molasses,” already signaled that this would be one of the strangest things Gong ever did in their colorful history, while the aforementioned “Supercotton” was packed with Allen’s neurotic monologues, mad guitar improvisations, dissonant sounds and a total psychedelic-avant-garde chaos. Clearly, after the relatively calm, melodic and meditative predecessor “Zero to Infinity,” Daevid wanted to revive Gong’s much more avant-garde and dissonant roots on “Acid Motherhood,” and he pulled that off pretty well across most of the tracks. The much more meditative and subtle “Olde Fooles Game” delivered an unexpected ambient twist, with some exotic percussion and the trademark space rock synth textures courtesy of keyboardist Cotton Casino.
The odd instrumental hybrid of space rock and prog metal called “Zeroina,” which refers to the female version of the Gong anti-hero Zero the Hero, was an uncompromising cross between psychedelia and brutality. Gong mythology was still present in most of the lyrics on “Acid Motherhood,” though this time without a concept and the usual psychedelic ‘old acquaintances.’ “Brainwash Me” was another rather comical space rock experiment, with Allen’s half-crazed vocal grumbling, whistling, loads of dissonant sounds and scattered guitar variations.
“Monstah!” was another chaotic, gloomy instrumental with a psychedelic-avant-garde rhythmic seasoning. The noticeably subtler space rock number “Bazuki Logix” featured Kawabata Makoto on bouzouki and plenty of ethereal synth waves. “Waving” was another ambient, beautiful, acoustic-leaning piece, providing a lovely contrast to the chaotic nature of most of the stuff on this album. The nearly 14-minute epic “Makedoten” was the experimental climax of “Acid Motherhood” and proof positive that Gong were still up for unpredictable improvisational adventures even in their golden years, as all three guitarists, led by Allen, really let rip this time. The closing super-psychedelic experiment, “Switchless In Molasses,” is easiest to describe as a cross-section of Daevid’s everyday state of mind when he starts overthinking the ecological and social injustices of this world.
“Acid Motherhood,” born from the fusion of three different but kindred bands under Allen’s genius-slash-eccentric leadership, was a one-of-a-kind experiment in Gong’s long and thrilling history. With it, Gong, this time in their ‘least classic’ lineup, went back to their avant-garde psychedelic roots, which delighted every fan of Allen’s most eccentric and experimental side. Allen was so thrilled about working with Acid Mothers Temple that the fusion of the two bands, under the name Acid Mothers Gong, hit the road for a huge tour. It seemed like classic Gong were a thing of the past, but Allen wouldn’t be Allen if he hadn’t turned things ‘upside down’ again right before recording the next album, “2032” (2009), and brought back almost the entire classic Gong lineup, with the exception of the late drum legend Pierre Moerlen.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Ocean Of Molasses (0:32)
2. Supercotton (8:36)
3. Olde Fooles Game (2:08)
4. Zeroina (2:56)
5. Brainwash Me (3:58)
6. Monstah! (2:31)
7. Bible Study (0:30)
8. Bazuki Logix (4:15)
9. Waving (4:05)
10. Makototen (13:36)
11. Schwitless In Molasses (4:35)
Gong:
Daevid Allen – guitar, vocals
Josh Pollock – guitar
Kawabata Makoto – guitar, bouzouki
Cotton Casino – synthesizer, backing vocals
Dharmawan Bradbridge – bass guitar
Orlando Allen – drums
Guest musicians:
Gilli Smith – vocals (2)
Kurt Schwitters – backing vocals (11)
Greg Sheenan – drums (3), percussion (6)
