I’m not much of a “noise” or “drone” guy. My musical bones growing up was really whatever was on the classic rock radio station, and though I’ve grown over the decades following the paths of classical, jazz, and extreme metal, the more experimental music never caught me the way it did many of my friends. But every so often something will catch my ear, a confluence of aural signposts that lead to an unexpected destination. Suzuki Junzo has been traveling this path for a while, having released albums solo or with a multitude of bands for over 20 years. His exploration of blues, psychedelia, noise and space rock all converge beautifully on Shark Infested Custard, which yields new experiences and nuances with each listen.

The album opens with the 21-minute “G-E.M.J” which has a sprawling, folkish drone. Junzo is responsible for all the guitars, as well as assorted percussion and e-bow, with someone christened Lonesome Death Dick on bass and Takahashi Ikuro on drums. There’s the sense of the desert, of the Old West, with Junzo’s guitar tone taking on the moaning wind. When I think of touchpoint I think about Can, minus the motorik beat and Damo Suzuki’s incredible vocals. “G-E.M.J” being instrumental (Junzo does provide vocals elsewhere on Shark Infested Custard) allows for the tonal themes to stretch into infinity, as layer upon layer of sound mesh into a thick soup of sound, occasionally dropped to accentuate a particular instrument (Junzo’s acoustic guitar, or later a particular spicy bass excursion, for example) or to let Ikuro’s drums announce a new section. It’s a journey with no destination in mind, and I’ll be the first to admit I generally like my songs to eventually arrive at a point, even if it happens to take a number of significant detours along the way. If there’s a point to the meandering of the track, it’s to purposefully get lost in the mix of sounds, to find brief moments that stand out as a striking piece of architecture or landscape would. You’re ambling with no goal in mind, just taking it all in.

Having taken up all of Side A, that leaves Side B with the brief and eerie “Skins of Silver Spoons” which takes advantage of the harmonium (played by Lonesome Death Dick, a name I will never tire of writing) before launching into some beautiful acoustic guitar and whispery vocals by Junzo. It’s over almost before it begins, leaving the remaining 16 minutes of music to the title track. Shuffling off with a dirty, ripped and choked blues riff, “Shark Infested Custard” the song might be the closest to a traditional rock song. Unlike the sprawling first track, this is more a showcase for Junzo, searing lead work, although in what appears to be a a running motif the soloing doesn’t hide the (intentionally) tattered rhythm section which moseys alongside him.

Eventually the band comes together in a cacophonous clamor, and that’s the end. Shark Infested Custard isn’t an album with any thematic point except to exercise your brain into discovering connections in psychedelic chaos, and when the mood strikes, it does what I want it to do.

Plus that guitar sound, man…dude can rip when he wants to.