According to the liner notes, Trychotic Id is an attempt by multi-instrumentalist Chris Cannon and friends to “portray the internal disarray of an unnamed lost soul.” Mission accomplished. This exercise in free-form skronk invokes a place none of us want to go (unless, of course, we’ve downed a goofball or three).
Trychotic is a good listen, but it doesn’t scream for repeat spins. It hits a groove early: “Efficacy of the Persona by the Psyche,” a generic indie-rock jangle, gives way to the Fugazi-like bass workout of “Ego Defense Mechanisms.” The rest of the album continues in much the same way.
Recorded live to tape in Montreal, the disc evokes a chilly winter’s day in cuts like “Suppression,” a brief chunk of disorienting guitar wrapped in warm strings. Psychedelic guitar washes from one track to the next, and the quiet moments are the disc’s best.
This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2007.