IN THE ELECTRIC UNIVERSE

'In The Electric Universe' is the seventh studio album - and third on MoonJune Records - by Canadian instrumental electro-psychedelic outfit Mahogany Frog. I was a big fan of their 2012 album, 'Senna', but this was apparently taking them in new sonic areas, so what would it be like? We have the same line-up as the last album, with Graham Epp (guitar, keyboards, electronics, trumpet), Jesse Warkentin (guitar, keyboards, electronics), and Andy Rudolph (drums, keyboards, electronics) and Scott Ellenberger (bass, keyboards, electronics, trumpet), which means we should expect some sort of continuity and stability. Instead there is a lack of cohesiveness and the impression that in some places this has been overthought and over-layered and others where it has been quite rushed.

Apparently the recording process for this album took from 2013 to 2019, so they commenced not long after the release of 'Senna', and one wonders how much of this material is actually from those early days, as we have lost the filthiness and moved very strongly into Krautrock, yet often without a sense of direction within the music itself. Even the press release says "unorthodox sounds and complex arrangements can challenge the ear", yet there are also times where undoubtedly they have the approach spot on. Consequently, the album becomes much better if one just dips in and plays just one song, returning to the album later as opposed to playing it all at once as then it can just get too much.

I am sure that those more firmly into Krautrock than I will find much on here to enjoy, but I definitely preferred their previous album.

This is studio album number seven from Canada's own MAHOGANY FROG and I feel fortunate to own six of those. I don't have the debut but of the six that follow "In The Electric Universe" is my least favourite. And while that may seem ironic given the band spent more time creating this album than any other, sometimes we can over-think things. This is the most difficult one for me mainly because the melody has been given the back seat. MAHOGANY FROG are so good at creating these memorable melodies which contrast well with the experimental stuff plus they cross many styles like it was nothing. I love this band but they lost me with this one. Probably their most uniform album but even in this I feel ripped off.

Why? Well the track listing on the back cover of this Moonjune release I bought has it like this... Theme From P.D., Psychic Police Force, Floral Flotilla, Cube, Octavio, Sundog. So six tracks but linking 2&3 along with 4&5 on the back cover. On the actual cd this is how it goes... Theme From P.D., Cube, Sundog, Psychic Police Force, Floral Flotilla , Octavio. So one of the linked tracks is broken but other than the opener it's all messed up. So I'm disappointed and actually had a good laugh because right from the time I got this cd I felt the cover art was upside down, it looks so much better and more natural the other way around. Maybe...