YES, WE ARE A JAZZBAND

This is the first Ixthuluh album and it is clearly different to the later ones. The band has played in this cast a music which has strongly orientated itself by the models of the jazz and fusion scene. Many pieces thereby are jazzily oriented and this is still stressed by the very free style of playing with long jams in the pieces, anyhow, during the live recordings. The fact that the group could do it also in a different way is pointed in "You can best free", a rocksong which does a Punkjazz-band from the group. The recordings themselves look unfinished and are more sketches than finishedly polished numbers. The album shows the band at the beginning of their style search and with it appropriately aimless. Ixthuluh has done actually a clear style change on the later albums towards to a psychedelic Krautrock, which is hardly to be noted in this disk. I take a pleasant to their debut, nevertheless, it brings music off the well-trodden trails and contains some musical surprises.

Yes we are a very average jazz band.

The album title says it all here. De-facto band leader guitarist Dita Lasser shares centre stage with saxophonist Max Wedl for some lengthy jazz improvisations. On later albums, Lasser would go on to have a much greater influence in the sound of Ixthuluh but here he allows Wedl to largely dominate things.

While the tracks were pre-rehearsed, they are essentially live studio jams. The title track is nine minute sax dominated improvisation. "It's cool", whose main theme is apparently used on other tracks, is a 13 minute sax and guitar improvisation, with drum and bass solos too. To be honest, the latter track is somewhat tedious, the constant repetition of the main theme rapidly becoming more than a little irritating. The other longer tracks "Spring air" and "Konglomerat" are more of the same, while "Black Aschbach" is a wearing 5 minutes of drums and bass.

There are occasional notable exceptions to the main feel of the album. "You can be free" is a Hendrix like rock number with strong lead guitar work by Lasser, and some rare vocals. "The ride" also has the Hendrix guitar and rock beat, but is more improvised. "Dancing in the rain" sounds a bit like the Shadows playing a western theme down at the local pub, while "Illegal travel" appears to be an improvisation on the backing track for the Beatles "Daytripper".

In all, a competent if largely anonymous debut with stronger jazz, especially sax, leanings than on later albums.

Sound quality wise, the album is somewhat variable, being digital transfers from almost 30 year old analogue tapes. This album is currently available for download in full at the band's website www.matscheko.at/ix_dl.html

An Austrian band playing in a Kraut-oriented style.Formed in 1975 in Amstetten they were led by Dita Lasser on guitars/vocals, James Geiblinger on bass, Max Wedl on saxophone and Michael Brandstetter on drums, but the Ixthuluh name, derived from H.P. Lovecraft's ''The call of Cthuluh'', appeared only around April 1976, after the members used Konglomerat, Stoerfaktor and Farmer as alternative options.Recordings from the band's early days (late 75'-early 77') were saved, remastered and offered for free in 2005 on the band's official website as a digital download under the title ''Yes, we are a jazzband''.

The presented material clocks at around 80 minutes and propably comes from one-shot studio rehearsals, as the sounds has this live feeling, but the quality is quite decent.The long tracks are good examples of instrumental Kraut-Jazz Rock in the vein of KRAAN with some ethnic and plenty of psychedelic passages, fairly based on the JOHANNES PAPPERT-like show of saxophonist Max Wedl and the rough, jazzy guitar scratches of Dita Lasser.Nothing to get excited about, but these pieces are typical of the Kraut Rock scene, featuring impressive improvisations, great guitar and sax battles and interesting solos over hypnotic, psychedelic grooves.If you like KRAAN's productions circa 1970-75, you will love Ixthuluh's jazzy executions.Inbetween these extended performances there are several pieces in a more Psychedelic Rock style, some of them feature vocals and the sax is generally absent for a rockier and edgier style.Again the recordings are pretty cool with some jazzy and bluesy influences in the guitar workouts and most of them are driven by sharp lead guitars and frenetic solos, which lack personality, but are performed nonetheless with passion.

Nothing better than discover a free download connected to the 70's and the old-school Kraut principles.KRAAN, KOLLEKTIV and OUT OF FOCUS are good comparisons for Ixthuluh's ''Yes, we are a jazzband'', jazzy and psych leanings around a rhythmic, Kraut-styled enviroment.