Having been lucky enough to catch Follakzoid in action at the 2013 Le Guess Who? the arrival of four new songs in the shape of new album III was a pleasing prospect & proves to be equally pleasing in reality.

With three songs at around 12 minutes each and final number 'Feuerzeug' clocking in at a mere nine you know even before pressing play that you're in for some seriously tripped-out drone.

The band's Domingo Garcia-Huidobro is on record as saying that the rhythms the trio employ are firmly rooted in ceremonial music from throughout the Andes & that "it sort of resembles trance-like Tibetan sounds" and by the middle of second track 'Earth' you'll be in no doubt about that as the looping sounds take on the density and primitive nature of noseflutes. Head music in more ways than one.

As they're not the speediest of bands it's that looping and repetitive nature of the Chileans' output that, with its ability to bring such things as those noseflutes to mind and thereby envelope you in an aural mirage, keeps them as interesting live as on record. Sure, you can find your way inside the music (or is it finding its way in to you?) and slip around in there and zone out to your heart's content but the towering peaks they manage to create on works such as 'Piure' can also easily keep you focussed and tuned right in to the here and now, visualising the guitar playing much as you'd stay tuned to the performance were it on stage before you.

Each year I feel it takes me longer and longer to come across the early albums that I think will be amongst those I can see myself caring enough about to still be playing the year after (or which at least impact enough to stand a good chance of "rediscovery"); with III Follakzoid have made themselves very firm contenders for continued play and the propogation of their works as widely as I can manage.   

III is available from amazon & iTunes.