Daniel A.I.U. Higgs

Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot
Thrill Jockey

Daniel Higgs’ brain is tuned-in to a farther out plain of cosmic spirituality than the rest of us. The lyricist for Baltimore’s post-hardcore icons Lungfish balances disquieting imagery of damaged mythology and religious psychobabble with his latest book / CD, Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot. Higgs’ gorgeous and absolutely impenetrable paintings, anagrams and noisy tape loops are filled with banjo banter and abstract references to Christian and Norse mythology. Jerky recordings with titles, like “Spiritual Hue” and “Creation Moan,” and acronyms, like E.D.E.N. (Everything Dies Even Now) and B.I.B.L.E. (Belief Is Blasphemy Lovingly Encoded) combine to jam the senses. His Miró-like paintings are surreal manifestations of female forms that are both fascinating and perplexing in all of their colorful symbolism. An underlying tie binds it all together; eluding linear interpretation and opening many doors into Higgs’ singular spiritual visions, but never offering guidance.

--Chad Radford