Named after the Higgs boson, a massive scalar elementary particle predicted to exist by the Standard Model in particle physics, Daniel Higgs made his first appearance in the musical universe via the 1980s hardcore punk band Reptile House, who went nova in 1986. Lungfish emerged from the stellar nursery soon after in 1987 and released the Necklace of Heads 12″ on Simple Machines. Almost immediately thereafter, they found their permanent home in the Dischord galaxy, where for the next 20 years, Higgs and company created music that was challenging and thought-provoking. The most prolific of any Dischord band, Lungfish recorded 10 full-length LPs for the label before going on hiatus in 2006.

In the time since the pause in the Lungfish star journey, Higgs took an unlikely sharp turn into a solo career way out in left field, often playing just a feedback-drenched banjo and a jaw harp, as well as working on a continued partnership with longtime musical / artistic compatriot Asa Osbourne in The Pupils. Most recently, Higgs has been gathering notoriety for his artwork and writing. Released in 2007 by Thrill Jockey, Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot gathers together 21 strange spreads, each of which feature a Joan Miro-like surreal emblem painted on one side paired with a like-minded (sometimes religious-themed) acrostic on the other. Examples:

Perfect
Extinctions
As
Corpses
Entwine

Let
It
Grow
High
Tonight

As you crack open the book’s first page, the accompanying CD erupts with a totally explosive, corroded, feedback banjo and proceeds from there into five more tracks of minimal, repetitive, lo-fi music–including piano snippets, overdriven electric guitar and jaw harp drones–that is all completely soaked with a definite third eye, staring-into-the-sun-for-the-rest-of-your-life-vibe. Unbelievably, 4,000 copies of this book + CD were printed, so finding a copy to call your own should be no problem.

Publisher: Thrill Jockey Catalog Number: THRILL 184 Format: Book + CD Packaging: Hardcover Pages: 48 Country: United States Released: 2007 More: Dischord, Revolver, Thrill Jockey, YouTube

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