RACCOO-OO-OON (RTB#43) Everything's coming to an end with the swansong from Iowa City's Raccoo-oo-oon. Following up last years critically acclaimed Behold Secret Kingdom (RTB/Not Not Fun), the final album takes everything up a notch and shows a band taking their last breath and laying down the last bricks in their fairly short history. The album blends together all different parts of Raccoo-oo-oons discography, taking cues from the utter freeform punk madness of The Cave Of Spirits Forever (Time Lag), building something completely new of the era that was Behold Secret Kingdom and yet delivering echoes of the eclectic Mythos Folkways recordings. The album reeks of desperation and a feeling of going down with nothing to loose at all. A fucked up future-prog mayhem that is all over the place and at no known place at all at the same time. Genuinely uncomfortable, desperate and just beautiful, this album will surely be remembered as the most important recording that Racco-oo-oon ever put to tape. Minds are melting, new grounds are covered and things will never be the same. A playtime of close to 75 minutes over 7 tracks. Mastered by Pete Swanson. Mini gatefoldsleeve with black felt. 2xLP version on Not Not Fun. The band members are now playing in acts such as Wet Hair, Trash Dog and Pukers. "All things must come to pass, if you love something set it free, it’s better to burn out than fade away, blah blah blah. No platitude can mask the permanent bummer of a favorite band breaking up in their prime, and such is the case with Iowa City’s most untamed civic treasure, feral-psych foursome Raccoo-oo-oon, who decided to dissolve this year after nearly half a decade of radical and galvanizing activity (tapes, tours, t-shirts, etc). Fortunately they’re generous sorts, so their parting gift to the fans/haters/planet is a vicious, thorny wilderness of endless, nameless songs heaved across four fried sides of black vinyl. Crawl a mile in their shoes. As far as R.I.P. band statements go, this self-titled monster is tough to beat, by far the most ambitious slabs of sounds the RAC pack has ever put together. Doomed, desperate prog-rock flailings decay into hollow purgatories of dimly pulsing ambience, only to re-erupt into pissed percussion firestorms and experimental electricity. There are a few moments of Behold Secret Kingdom-style focus, but for the most part the mood remains raw and acidic, four souls on edge, backs to the crowd, channeling everything they have left inside. It’s deconstruction time again. Nearly 80 minutes of music, mastered by Pete Swanson" - NNF PRESSING INFO! 1000 copies. REVIEWS! target="blank">Foxy Digitalis Groove Heathen Harvest Tiny Mix Tapes