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About This Album
Dustveil Communion imagines a late-1960s private-press psychedelic blues record recovered from a wooden crate behind a shuttered occult bookshop. Its world is dusty, sun-baked and mushroom-lit: fuzz guitar hangs in the air like smoke while Hammond and Farfisa organ, loose drums, hand percussion and deep analog bass keep the music rooted in a slow, earthy pulse.
The record is deliberately not built from ten versions of the same ritual groove. “Redcap” leans into a dirty head-nod riff, “Ashroot” turns to a dry desert stomp, and “Low Sun” opens a warmer, more human sunset space. “Mire” drags the sound into swamp blues, “Sporelight” floats in bright 6/8 motion, and the stripped-back “Hollow” leaves bass, floor tom and silence to carry the tension.
Vocals remain sparse throughout. The instruments do most of the storytelling through tremolo, slide guitar, tape haze, spring reverb and extended passages that are allowed to breathe. By the time “Communion” gathers earlier musical shapes into its closing procession, the album has moved from smoke-filled stillness through dry roads, black water and strange fields before returning to the hiss and bells from which it emerged.
Archive year: 1968 · Published:
Tracklist
- 1Dustveil4:29
- 2Redcap5:04
- 3Ashroot2:52
- 4Low Sun4:17
- 5Smokehand3:24
- 6Mire4:13
- 7Sporelight4:21
- 8Hollow4:14
- 9Witchgrass4:54
- 10Communion5:35
Lyrics
Dust on the mirror Smoke in the room Red moon rising Too soon Too soon Follow the veil Down low Where the dry wind Won't go The glass turns black Don't wake the ground Don't speak the name The glass turns black Everything burns But nothing has flame
Redcap leaning By the stone Nobody sees it Growing alone Small red door Show me the road Under the ground Smoke on the hillside Dust in the bowl One small doorway Swallows me whole Small red door Turn me around Lay me down Small red door Don't let me wake Too soon Under the red Under the red
Ashroot In my shoe Dry road Breaking through Ashroot Bitter black Took one step Couldn't come back Dust mouth Sun bite Root smoke White light Smoke in the heel Down in the heel Down in the bone No river No rain Just that root Calling my name Smoke in the heel Walk me crooked Walk me home
Low sun On my hands Long road Empty land Low sun In my eyes Old dust Turning gold I went down To the dry creek bed Heard my name But the wind had said it Amber light Don't leave me Cold If I sleep Before the night Wake me slow In the amber light Amber light Carry me Home
Instrumental
Black water Mud on my sleeve Mouth full of wire Who went down? I went down Who came back? No one now Black water laughing Under my feet Frogs in the ditch Keeping bad time Black water Pulling slow But pulling deep Step once Sink twice Cold mud Feels nice Black water Don't dry out Don't let go Who went down? I went down Who came back? No one now
Sporelight Soft and blue Falls through The ceiling I saw a window Breathe in the wall I heard the morning Before it called Soft blue fire Open wide Then disappear Green glass White flame No one Knows my name Sporelight Soft and blue Take me Almost through Not asleep Not awake One more breath And I break Soft blue fire Fade slow Stay near
Empty room There is a room Under the room There is a mouth Behind the wall Empty room I put my hand Inside the dark The dark Held on No floor below Don't call down Don't look in The well has teeth The rope has skin Empty room I heard my name Without a voice I saw my face Without a head No floor below Leave me empty Leave me still
Grass bends low Where the black wind goes No one cuts it No one knows A white thread tied To a crooked branch A small bell buried In the dust by chance Don't step there With your eyes closed Don't ask why The root still glows Green shadow Under my skin Old field breathing Out and in Someone left a candle Under the rain Someone wrote a circle Without a name The field keeps turning The field keeps still
The bowl is empty The fire is low Someone left footprints Where nothing can grow Red dust on the doorway Black ash on the tongue All of the shadows Are learning one song We came through water We came through clay We carried the mirror The wrong way What did you bring? Only smoke What did you lose? The name I spoke The small red door Has closed itself The glass went dark Upon the shelf Do not wake the ground Do not count the flame Leave the cup behind Leave without a name Ash in the hand Dust in the lung No one returns The way they begun
Explore This Album
Recommended If You Like
- Late-1960s psychedelic blues
- Fuzz, tremolo and slide guitar
- Hammond and Farfisa organ haze
- Dusty private-press acid rock
- Mushroom-folk and occult imagery
- Loose, tape-worn analog production
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