Qa’a – “Chi’en” – [Magia Roja]

This Barcelona band (name pronounced “Ka”) takes us on an amazing trip on this 2009 release. Things start off pleasantly enough, with some calm psyche-style guitar rock that eventually freaks out a bit. But after that, the musical moves are unpredictable–looped patterns, warped electronics, crazy soundscapes, chanting, whispering, yelling, more freaky guitars, long percussion passages, machine noises, shaking and rattling, and who knows what all else. Basically, there are a whole lot of different spaced-out things very well put together. My favorite part is probably Track 5, a raging masterpiece of psychedelic strangeness. Most of the tracks are long enough to pick us up and carry us away. The trip ends with a short rustic acoustic guitar piece. No exaggeration when I say this may well become one of my favorite records of all time.