Spindrift Issue #38

The West (Beat the World)

By Saskia Lacey
Published: December 1st, 2008 | 12:00am

Heavily influenced by Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, Spindrift is a psychedelic western super group that features members of both the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Warlocks. Like Morricone’s legendary compositions, The West is music to have shootouts to.

However, it’s not all spurs and six-shooters — Spindrift’s music is inspired by the spaghetti western classics rather than defined by them. While new cowboy anthems “Ace Coltrane” and “The Klezmer Song” recall Leone’s sunset showdowns, other tracks, like the darkly carnivalesque “Frozen Memories,” stray far from where the buffalo roam.

Opening number “The Isle Of Lost Souls” sets an unlikely tone for the rest of the album. One part Jean-Claude Vannier and two parts “Monster Mash,” “The Isle Of Lost Souls” boasts plenty of spooky organ wails and ghoulish guitar riffs.

The Legend Of God’s Gun, a campy rocknroll western featurette, tells the story of a vengeful bandito and a gunslinging preacher. First released last spring at Cannes, the film includes an instrumental version of “The New West,” and Quentin Tarantino’s favorite, “Indian Run” — a song that will be featured in his upcoming film, “Hell Ride.”

Decidedly missing from The West are Julie Patterson’s sirenic vocals. The band’s keyboardist, Patterson proved to be a hypnotic chanteuse on “Red Reflection,” one of the high points of Spindrift’s last LP, Songs From the Ancient Age.

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