The name Weeping Bang Band stokes expectations for cannabis-reliant comedy, or at least a few cracks about why the bong is sad. But while II evokes the cloudiness of consciousness that comes from congregating in smoke-filled rooms, neither tragedy nor hilarity is on the agenda here. Just ask NASA; it requires both serious intent and technical facility to induce lift-off, and this quintet—Anthony Pasquarosa, Beverley Ketch, Clark Griffin, PG Six and Wednesday Knudsen—has the right stuff.
Weeping Bang Band’s sophomore LP opens on a ceremonial note, with echo-laden banjo and reverent organ tones marking the clearing where Ketch stands, reciting a poem that intimates knowledge and loss. After that, II is completely instrumental, with liquid guitar tones and knowing piano figures winding around quietly questing bass lines. This music was recorded in real time by musicians who know how to listen and respond, and who do so in ways that keep the focus on sustaining a zonked vibe rather than indulging in wanton zonkedness themselves.
—Bill Meyer
