Al Cisneros, "Teresa of Avila"

The second solo single from Sleep/Om’s Al Cisneros continues from where its predecessor left off. Unfortunately, this means there has been little progression in this new creative approach for Cisneros. With any luck, these tracks will eventually turn into fully-fledged works as the music is nice but, for now at least, it is of curiosity value rather than an essential work from a man who has made an awful lot of essential records.

Sinai Records

"Teresa of Avila" consists of a spacious groove with some minimal percussion over the top. Where "Dismas" from the first 7" felt like a new angle for Cisneros, "Teresa of Avila" feels more like a sketch for a new Om track. It is hard not to mentally fill in the blanks with Cisneros’s vocals and the elaborate embellishments like tambura and flute that made Om’s last couple of albums so engaging. Yet here, the music just repeats without any sort of anchor to make it stand out.

The B-side, "Levitation Dub," is more of the same riff but this time there is a bit more going on. It still feels like a sketch but one that is further along than the A-side. There is a greater energy to it and, as its title would imply, it lifts me off the floor for its duration. However, I still keep imagining Cisneros’s vocals coming at some point and the rest of Om sparking off an immense blast of musical bliss like the brilliant intro and release of "Sinai" from Advaitic Songs. As pleasant as this music is, it is this sense of incompleteness that makes it a frustrating experience.