Effi Briest/ Rhizomes

Effi Briest
Rhizomes
(Blastfirstpetite)

Witchcraft in the modern sense, or Wicca if you like, was invented in the early 20th Century by a chap called Gerald Gardner. Claiming to have met a group of witches who descended from 'the burning times' in the New Forest of England, he persisted in translating their 'ancient rituals', picked up a following and re-ignited history.
I can imagine Effi Briest starting a similar, if less religious, following. Singer Kelsey disregards melodic convention in favour of a wild child approach, similar to that of Rachel from Kasms. Her band play muffled drums and hypnotic bass lines around her, creating a space for the listener to relax into. The experience of listening to 'Rhizomes' is what the dope-fiend busting cops of 1950s America might have described as 'becoming hip'.
The New York band also share a similarity with Lydia Lunch, with Kelsey demanding her band in dominantly sexual directions in 'Mirror Rim'. Later, 'Nights' brings the Duke Spirit to mind with its shamanistic sense of open air drama.
It's quite the mind opener, and a reminder that New York has now become a true melting pot of styles - the punk V hippie dogma of the 1970s has given way to a luminous garden of styles, of which Effi Briest are a particularly dangerous flower.