One of the best things about doing Foxy Digitalis is getting releases like "Moon Colored Dogs" in the mail. This 3" by the completely unknown Taiga Remains (great name) caught me off-guard. This is the solo project of one A.F. Cobb, mastermind behind the Students of Decay imprint (who has an incredible CD compilation in the works). "Moon Colored Dogs" is a two-part sonic excursion into freezing Siberian waters, sunkissed and envigorated.

Part one of this journey is a dense and methodic drone in the spirit of Birchville Cat Motel. It is like watching the sun first pierce the horizon on a perfect, snowy dawn. Shimmering guitars and subtle melodica notes fill the air, keeping you warm on this glacial surface. Cobb layers each instrument perfectly, creating something so dense that you can't help but be enveloped. It's quite an impressive introduction to the monster that is Taiga Remains.

As good as the first part is, part two ups the ante. An overwhelming sense of melancholy wraps itself around "Moon Colored Dogs (part 2)." The guitars here sound like a swarm of bees making their way across the open expanses of the mid-Western United States. Underneath flows a river of organ drones that add organic magic to the proceedings. Again, Birchville Cat Motel is a jumping off point, but the somewhat abrasive nature to these sounds also remind me of the UK's mighty Vibracathedral Orchestra. Either way, this is an excellent and impressive debut from what will surely become one of the Rust Belt's finest. Recommended. 8/10 -- Brad Rose (24 October, 2005)