12.17.20 by Ryan Masteller

“Instant Light” means several things to Tar Of, the duo composed of the Googoosh Dolls guys: “an attempt to capture the present tense, a blinding disorientation, a sudden clarity.” For me, “Instant Light” is a kaleidoscopic head trip, a skewed pop labyrinth where pieces and parts appear and disappear at will, sometimes seemingly at random, until you’re dizzy from being spun around and whiplashed from being spun around and vomiting PROFUSELY from being spun around and around and around and around … you get the picture. Here, though, the vomiting is metaphorical – you just get spun around a lot and disoriented in a fun, music-appreciation kind of way. The way you normally do when you listen to something I suggest that you should listen to.

The doubled harmony vocals immediately call to mind those of Edwin and Andy of Tonstartssbandht, and honestly, that’s a great place to start making comparisons. Although Tar Of stays mostly on the lighter side (think the Eola and Andy Boay solo stuff), there are still blasts of psychedelic guitar and drums periodically. But mostly the vocal melodies chant and repeat, swirling around their accompaniment, which consists of much less psychedelically blasted instrumentation, and also samples and things. Because you can’t get into the “lighter side” of “psychedelics” without collaged samples. Take it from me – they’re a wonderful addition to any magical mystery tour.

So “Instant Light” is just that – short flashes of “clarity,” sometimes “blinding” in their “disorientation,” stitched together in a patchwork and representing the at-times uncertain-and-incoherent framework of the “present.” I can only imagine what that is like for two Brooklyn-based dudes from Iran. But I do know one thing – they align the chaos to make it sound like it was meant to be all along. That’s a pretty dreamy thing to do.

Tape is out on Glass Orchard Records.