Shadow Temple is an interestingly little 8-track record that might be the perfect match for an Alejandro Jodorowsky movie marathon, or an exotic dinner. But really, it defies easy logic – one thing is clear though, it’s immediately obvious that the members of Prince Rama were born and raised in a Hare Krishna community during their childhood. Those chanting and tribal sounds have made their way into their music, and its pretty damn disturbing. Female operatic vocals howl and scream semi-religious chants throughout all the songs on the album. The whole time they are soaked in reverb and swirling effects and probably the blood of an animal sacrifice. Believe it or not, this is Prince Rama’s fourth record to date, but it’s without a doubt their most accomplished (by their standards). Its also the first to be released on Paw Tracks, a record label started by members of Animal Collective which has hosted musicians like Ariel Pink and other neo-tribal lunatics of the American Underground.

Shadow Temple might fail to gain your immediate attention with its total disregard for song structure, melody, and just about everything else you’d hear in a Vampire Weekend song. But stick with it, and you might be able to put of with its bizarreness, at least for the novelty.

“Om Mane Padme Hum” opens the album with a swirl of chimes and bells and gradually the synths and tribal drums enter the arena. From then onwards, without actually looking at your CD player you won’t be able to tell the difference between any of them. This continuous sound absorbs the whole album while subtly making changes between dramatic freak-outs, ambient chill-outs and krautrock tribal drones. Like most great krautrock albums, the changes are minor and go unnoticed. Shadow Temple might not be as exciting, varied or complicated as bands like Neu, Faust and Can but there are aspects that derive from them.

Literally the only moment of pop on the record is “Lightening Fossil” which is more or less the centerpiece. It opens with a horror-music drone, wild synth sounds and then a almost catchy vocal melody. There’s a witch-doctor chant going on in the background that sounds like an Ennio Morricone bass line too. “Raghupati”, the final track on the record is pretty much the highlight, with lots of varied organ sounds and a half memorable epic-chant it sounds like an epic uplifting out-take from “Supersee” by the Boredoms.

Shadown Temple isn’t exactly going to be blasting on your car stereo down the beach in the summer. It’s a self-indulgent affair, one for nasty acid trips and solo journeys through the desert. It’s another fitting example of this generation’s obsession with tribal indigenous cultures and electronica – But not exactly an essential one.

Review score: 7/10