Get Lost In Ivan The Tolerable’s “Gold Hat”; ‘White Tears’ Out 4/2

Man, leave it to Tom McDowell and his Library of the Occult record label to lay some serious musical mojo on my brain. McDowell, in less than a year, has turned his label into a musical breeding ground of dark synth and forward-thinking musical escapades. Records that run the gamut from haunted drones to psych jazz to heavy synth to Giallo freakouts to acid-fried music scores. He’s already dropped two albums in 2021, and the next one is just around the corner.

On April 2nd Library of the Occult present the newest release from Ivan The Tolerable, aka Oli Heffernan (Year Of Birds / King Champion Sounds / Detective Instinct / Shrug) called White Tears. Heffernan, when working in Ivan The Tolerable mode, seems to enjoy the landscape of spaced-out jazz and free-form wandering. But rummaging through Ivan The Tolerable’s Bandcamp page I think it’s safe to say that Heffernan enjoys dabbling in a little of everything. He’s not into labels, man. He just goes where the muse directs him.

On White Tears track “Gold Hat” the muse has landed him firmly in a haze of woozy electric piano, ethereal synth, saxophone, and LSD dreams. The track opens on space-y synths and horn that feel like waking from a 12-hour surgery in gauzy anesthesia bliss. Imagine Eternal Tapestry, Get Up with it-era Miles, and Mort Garson taking a stab at Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” on some wine-soaked evening in a Biodome on the off-world colonies. That’s the vibe I’m getting listening to this long, expansive, and totally immersive track.

April 2nd Library of the Occult will be dropping White Tears. So that means first thing that morning you head over to the label’s Bandcamp page and you snag a copy of this 180 gram slab of heady musical goodness. And then you thank your lucky stars that Library of the Occult and Ivan The Tolerable are here to blow your minds.

Listen to “Gold Hat” below, and then mark that calendar for 4/2.