by Skip JansenVajra is a power trio featuring three legendary figures of the Japanese underground, with Kan Mikami on vocals, Keiji Haino on guitar, and drummer Ishitsuka Toshi of Cinorama providing the propulsive backing. Fans of the Tokyo psychedelic underground can imagine the intensity the group create on this fine release, their third album. The combined intensity of this music goes beyond the capacity of any formula, although they touch on psychedelic rock and free improvisation, the trio succeed in creating a music that is otherworldly by successfully combining their singular aesthetics. This could be called instinctive music rather than improvisation, as the trio -- at their most ferocious -- often achieve those rare musical moments that beg the listener wonder weather they were accidents or acts of genius invention. As their fourth album, Sravaka, furthers the approach of the previous and equally stunning Ring, with Kan Mikami's vocal to the fore often teeter on the verge of discomfort. And while his text is sung entirely in a Japanese dialect that can be difficult for masters of the language to comprehend, the vocal chords with which he delivers his verse transcend all language. Another language entirely is that of Keiji Haino's guitar, which is a force to be reckoned with in any context. Here, the acclaimed avant-garde icon shapes his noise into exquisite patterns of feedback and chiming harmonics, veering between all-out assault and pensive tonal meandering in astute empathy with his partners. PSF's hundredth release is as fine an example of the Tokyo underground psychedelic rock scene as one could wish for, and purveyors of the genre will find more in this single recording than in ten others. As the trio assume with their music, simplicity of instinct can sometimes be more complex than any calculation.