The unpredictable and mind-altering energy that emanates from the music of psych-rock quartet Wand suggests the kind of unhinged spirit that only comes from a live performance. On their debut album Ganglion Reef, sun-drenched vocals give way to heavy, fuzz-laden riffs; the riffs morph into runaway guitar solos quivering with ferocity; those solos temper and then finally fade away. The listener is left with the sense that the past three minutes were a crazed dream.
Given Ganglion Reef's transcendent powers, it's no wonder that when we spoke to Wand vocalist and guitarist Cory Hanson via email, he wanted to focus on live versions of songs that teem with unhinged energy. Below, six of his favorite songs — including one rather insane Bowie performance — that are better live:
1. Throbbing Gristle, "Discipline"
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"TG is a big influence on us, though I wish we knew how to make instruments that looked and sounded like lab experiments, or played conventional instruments that were deformed and half working. I guess we do kind of do the last bit. But that's just because our gear is all crazy and unpredictable. Sometimes a cable will go bad and a set will inadvertently turn into something out of Mission of Dead Souls. It's not intentional though... or is it?"
2. Pantera, "Domination" (live in Moscow)
"Dimebag's solo leading into THE breakdown. There is nothing else to say."
3. Melvins, "Into The Void" (Black Sabbath cover)
"Yeah, it is slower than you remember it. About 75,000,000 percent slower."
4. Kraftwerk, Live on Rockpalast
"A lot of the tracks from their first LP are scattered throughout this insanely well preserved live footage. Their kraut energy is so kinetic, circuital. Each member is well organized, although sometimes the drummer breaks down into waves of crashing cymbals, the flautist becomes the percussive element, and the synth/organ is always occupying a space in between the two."
5. Amon Duul II, "Between The Eyes"
"On my copy of Tanz Der Lemminge, I have an alternate version of this called "Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight." But the end of "Stumbling" has this tin foil sounding filter effect that is found at the beginning of the recorded version of "Between the Eyes" on Lemmingmania. My only explanation for this phenomena is a musical wormhole traveling from one record pressing to the next, but this is an aside, because this live version creams both of them easily. That riff breakdown is f--king undeniably heavy."
6. David Bowie, "Width of a Circle"
"Let me give you a play-by-play on this one. Mick Ronson's 10-minute spasm of a guitar solo, at some point spraying waves of time-traveling MDMA into the mouths of children in the front row. When they cut to the audience, you see a strobe of sweat drenched babies, presumably locked in some industrial cave circa 1991. Then Bowie re-emerges, stuck in an invisible force-field, looking for the vagina in the wall from which to emerge. Finding it, he is then born onto the stage! No joke — just watch the whole thing. I do not lie."
Ganglion Reef is out now on GOD? Records.
(This interview was condensed and edited by Samantha Rollins.)
Listen to "Flying Golem" below:
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