The fifth studio album from Chengdu-based psychedelic rock quartet Proximity Butterfly may well turn out to be among the top albums of 2011. It offers a level of rock ecstasy unmatched in Beijing, along with heavy guitar riffs and hypnotic yet violent instrumentals. The fact that Reprieve was inspired by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake even adds pathos to its musical depth.
The album offers up dark, hallucinatory stuff in ‘The Thousand Faces’, ‘Ruin’ and ‘Sickness’; while great tempo shifts, eclectic guitar solos and heavy distortion can be found in ‘The Sex’, ‘Tiptoes of Shiva’ and ‘Babies In Trees’. The seven-minute-long ‘Emperor’, on the other hand, is the most mind-blowing track. Multi-instrumental guru Douglas Li plays enchanting – and sometimes almost flirtatious – tunes on his urheen (a Chinese string instrument) in harmony with the inexhaustible psychedelic guitar of Joshua C Love. Reprieve captures a band at the height of their musical powers.