New 4 track EP from Census of Hallucinations, released as a taster for their forthcoming album. In Ruins adds intense prog guitar to a bleak experimental folk piece; I use 'folk' very loosely here. The track features a guest appearance from Tim Jones and Terri~B's son James, in which he recites an eerie poem about dead trees with black skeletons, and wind blowing like an invisible smoke-breathing dragon. These evocative words fit perfectly with the song's dark and surreal atmosphere. The next couple of tracks are ethereal and surreal prog rock, in which the flowing guitar work of John Simms, also of renowned long-running band Clear Blue Sky, provides a backdrop for Tim Jones' sarcastic, uncompromising lyrics. He Who Can Manage Camels sets a philosophical narration by Tim Jones to a dramatic Eastern-tinged prog instrumental. The lyrics encourage the listener not to seek truth in organised religion but within themselves, in the here and now. The last part of the track blends James Jones' poem from the first track with a spooky, dreamlike experimental soundscape. Census of Hallucinations' last album placed emphasis on the darker and more experimental side of their sound, and this EP suggests that this is a direction they are continuing to head towards.
(Reviewed by Kim Harten - Bliss Aquamarine (http://www.blissaquamarine.net/)