Kuriharock Sampler

White Heaven

Levitation (1997)

Limited to only 700 copies, White Heaven's final LP was recorded in 1988, after two cassettes-only releases. "Cold Hour" opens in the eye of a hurricane, a free-psych whirlwind propelled by the rhythmic surge of bassist Soichiro Nakamura and drummer Ken Ishihara, nearly matched on the opposite side by the cliff-hanger "Out of My Window." Both get chased by slow burners: the resin-blues lament "Dull Hands" and improvised Far Eastern ambience of "Snow on the Table."

Damon & Naomi

Song to the Siren: On Tour With Kurihara (2002)

Recorded in San Sebastián, Spain, and repackaged last year with the tour documentary 1001 Nights, this live album strips down Damon & Naomi's 2000 collaboration with Ghost to its bare essence. With patient restraint and tidal serenity, Kurihara's beacon guitar shines through the siren melancholy of "Tanka," "The Great Wall," and the Jacks' "Love," a haunting ballad from Japan's Group Sounds era.

The Stars

Will (2004)

The final chapter in the saga of Japan's greatest guitar tandem, You Ishihara and Michio Kurihara, culminates in a stoned, cold classic with universal appeal. Ishihara summons the ghost of Jim Morrison for the stuttering groove of "Small White Wonder," then breaks on through in the shimmering Future Days trance of "Twinkle Outside." Side two simmers the episodic "End of a Year" and seductive closer "Orange Hour Circle."

Michio Kurihara

Sunset Notes (2007)

A personal soundtrack to scenic remembrances both real (the Yojimbo Western-surf of "Twilight Mystery of a Russian Cowboy") and imagined (the tranquil reservation of "The Old Man and the Evening Star"). Kurihara's lone solo CD goes gently into that good night with ethereal instrumentals, minimalist guitar symphonies, and two wind chime lullabies from Ai Aso.

Boris With Michio Kurihara

Smile – Live at Wolf Creek (2008)

Much like 2007's Rock Dream with Merzbow, Kurihara elevates this 2-CD Japanese import into the upper echelon of essential live albums, magnifying the entirety of that year's Smile while adding helicopter tailspin guitar to "Laser Beam," camera-shutter sustain to the terse B-side "Floor Shaker," and paper shredder spasms for "Rainbow." Maximum rock & roll with a closing 26-minute drone suite rivaled only by My Bloody Valentine's so-called holocaust.

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For more album reviews, see "Ghost Discography," May 15, 2009.