Sun City Girls, Bright Surroundings Dark Beginnings (side A)

1993 was 3 years and several LPs after Sun City Girls' classic Torch of the Mystics, and Bright Surroundings Dark Beginnings mines a similar vein. The Bishops continued to explore faux-Middle Eastern music through their crazy guitar playing and vocalizing. While Torch of the Mystics had a series of short, focused songs, Bright Surroundings Dark Beginnings features pieces that are long and repetitive. The primitive but still competent live recording evokes the feel of 70s field recordings, and the simple monotone packaging meshes perfectly with the contents inside.