Sand - The Dynamic Curve (1991)

With an assortment of bands over the years (at least nine) calling themselves Sand there has likely been some serious confusion on which Sand exactly released 'The Dynamic Curve.' Probably often confused for the krautrock band from lower Saxony, Germany that had one album in '72 titled, 'Golem,' this Sand is in fact a project from two individuals known as, Richard Green and Edward Ball whom... well, that's about all I know.

'Felatio' kicks the album off with fast acoustic guitars as a soaring gorgeous synth melody slowly enters alongside some diverse percussion and the song carries on triumphantly, gaining in momentum, it creates this mental video of traversing through snowy hills and mountains. The whole vibe of the song is one of pure beauty, melancholy and unexplainable majesty as it travels through its nearly ten minute duration switching between acoustics, synths and all at the same time. It wouldn't be out of place to call this krautrock, but this sounds vastly different and in a lot of ways more superior than a lot of bands I've heard from the genre. Notably, a member of Agalloch admitted that this song was a big influence on the band when they were recording 'The Mantle' and if you look the song up I think you'll see the similarities.

'This Thinking Feeling Moment' is a purely synthesized piece that carries a much more happy and straightforward tone, while 'Consent' makes use of a little percussion amongst the synths, its a mostly chill out track that just sort of reminds me of relaxing summer days. 'Communion' brings me back to the first song with its mixture of guitar, percussion and synths, though the whole feel of the song is more uplifting, whereas, 'Infinite' is just all psyched out, weird and probably a rad track to trip out too. 'Absolution' concludes the album in a calmer, I suppose, more typical krautrock manner as this slow trippy ambient piece takes the listener on a fun ride for over nine minutes.

In the end, I can't say the whole album is a brilliant piece of work, but for 'Felatio' I'm telling you its worth owning the album alone. The other fives songs are by no means bad, but just fail to completely capture the beauty of the first song. Nevertheless, if you enjoy krautrock that may or may not be different from the average one from this genre then do take some time to check out this hidden and probably completely forgotten album.