Three has always been the magic number for Black Bombaim. But the Portuguese psychedelic-stoner-prog instrumental power trio take it to another level on their half-dozenth release Zone of Resident Bodies. The intrepid sonic explorers’ latest experimental endeavour was recorded in three different sites (an old auditorium, an empty room in a post office and a reverb chamber in a university) and with three different electronica artists (Jonathan Saldanha, Luís Fernandes, Pedro Augusto). So not only do these six freewheeling jams take them in new collaborative directions; they also push the sonic envelope as they explore the size, shape and limits of the individual recording spaces. With a set list that includes minimalist 20-minute dirges that let every note ring until it dies, rumbling boogie-rock jams, churning Krautrock creations, cacophonous noisefests and muscular low-rock brooders, this is the sound of a band that isn’t afraid to test their own limits and their listeners. They’re in the zone, all right.
