Yamantaka//Sonic Titan

This duality-obsessed duo from Montreal specializes in a genre that the members have dubbed “noh-wave.” This essentially means that the Asian-Canadian duo has thrown together a whole bunch of influences and invented its own hybrid prog-rock genre—one that incorporates Japanese psychedelia, Chinese opera, and Iroquois social songs along with other influences obvious and obscure. Yamantaka//Sonic Titan is still, apparently, in the process of making the first “noh-wave” opera, Star, but until then, it has a strong 30-minute LP’s worth of material from YT//ST, as well as a reputation for elaborate designed DIY live shows, which, like the group’s music, incorporates influences from across time and space. But most importantly, its music, as strange and dense as it can be, is an oddly accessible and strangely enjoyable listen.

Updated 06/05/2012