Mahogany Brain forged their unique audio dialect with their debut release, With (Junk-Saucepan) When (Spoon-Trigger) for the legendary Futura label in 1971. More Avant-Garde than Prog, it spoke to the souls of the dedicated one percenters — such as the ESP Disk set — specifically patrons of The Godz and Cromagnon. But in early 1972, Mahogany Brain recorded Smooth Sick Lights, a follow-up release even more bewildering than its predecessor, yet this sat neglected until 1976 when it was issued by the Pole label. It’s hard to know what sort of impression it made on anyone beside Steven Stapleton (as his NWW list is how many have been informed of its existence). It had enough allure that the Tapioca label reissued a botched mispress in 1977, which seems to be the version that most latent hep-cats, whom knew not better, got fooled into owning. Zaius Tapes comes to the rescue once again with a stellar reissue of this exemplary diamond in the rough. For fans of the further out ’70s French Prog, it goes beyond Red Noise and Fille Qui Mousse. You can see how the brain-beams emitted from this release were studied by Heratius, Gutura, and others. It’s possible Smooth Sick Lights even helped inform factions of the New York No Wave (lead guitarist Patrick Geoffois would go on to be a member of both The Contortions and James White & The Blacks). As the bard once penned, “conjecture is nine-tenths of the truth.” RIYL; Frolk Haven, Mars, Jandek, Sproton Layer. One-time pressing of 300.