Various Artists – The Best of Disney, Volume Two [1978; Disneyland]

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In this second and final installment of the Best of Disney compilation series, the selections come from live-action and animated films (plus one track, “Disco Mouse”, from the New Mickey Mouse Club TV series), with little flow or linkage between the picked tracks.  The audio quality is better than that of the first in the series, though there’s still a bit of fuzziness at times, and for the most part, the performances come off quite well.  Mary Poppins and Pinocchio each get two inclusions, and aside from So Dear to My Heart, the rest of the sources are well-exposed entries in Disney’s catalog.  A decent compilation, but the seemingly careless grab-bag nature stains it with a sense of pointlessness.

Soothsayer – At This Great Depth [2016; Transcending Obscurity Records]

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In the first of this short album’s two tracks, “Umpire”, Soothsayer build a thick atmosphere of bass rumbling and keening guitar licks, backed by slow-moving drums and a treacle-speed swell of feedback.  Rising into growls, howls, and pounding beats, the song makes the transition to higher energy with a nice degree of control, and the violence which emerges is fitted smoothly to the growth of the running melody.  “Of Locusts and Moths” follows a similar structure at half the length, with further background texturing, a sharper shift into speed, and a stronger main riff.  It does drop off somewhat abruptly, but that plays to its debut album status by, along with its overall strong song-writing, leaving listeners wanting more.