William Nowik: Pan Symphony in E Minor

Label: Guerszen

This is a 14-movement suite (not a symphony), a wonderful bit of eccentricity from a very multi-talented guy. Nowik is heard on guitars (acoustic, electric, and electric 12-string, Hawaiian), electric bass, acoustic and electric violin, flutes, piano, percussion, kalimba, pump organ, and even a ceramic blowfish. A few other folks helped out on this mostly instrumental album, including a pretty good saxophonist, Warren Cooper. While it’s easy to hear why psych fans are into it, frequently cited comparisons to Pink Floyd and King Crimson are a bit misleading, as it style-hops all over the place and what psych-rock there is here sounds more spacey West Coast than dense British psych; free improvisation, a snippet of Gregorian chant, howling wolves, and more make this a constantly surprising sonic grab bag of sounds and styles. (Steve)