MØSTER!

My first album by these guys was "When You Cut Into The Present" and I was so impressed with the music and the lineup. MOSTER! is named after Kyle Moster the sax player and leader of the band. They're from Norway and there are so many connections that I could actually spend a significant amount of time listing what albums and bands these four guys play on and are part of. Norway is becoming the Canterbury of Scandanavia! Briefly, we get Nikolai Eilertsen on bass and he is in ELEPHANT9 and NEEDLEPOINT. Kenneth Kapstad of MOTORPSYCHO fame on drums, he's also in GRAND GENERAL(love that one). MOTORPSYCHO's guitarist is on all but this record I believe. Many will know the name Stale Storlokken the keyboardist from ELEPHANT9 and SUPERSILENT. He played along with Kyle Moster on that MOTORPSYCHO classic "The Death Defying Unicorn". Okay I'll stop.

So a four piece with three of them playing electronics. Loud electronics. Noisy electronics. So this is MOSTER!'s very first release a live one recorded in Olso in December of 2011. The debut studio album "Inner Earth" is from 2014 and these two are both fairly abstract and noisy. Very experimental and tough to digest. "When You Cut Into The Present" is where the electronics were dropped along with a lot of that free Jazz vibe.

The drumming on the closer "The Boat" is beyond reason really. I'm sure one of his arms must have fallen off late in that performance. I'm not saying much about the music because it is a tough listen. I highly recommend "When You Cut Into The Present" but the two before it are buyer beware. More for the Avant guys or modern Free Jazz lovers.

I have to admit this one caught me completely off guard. After reviewing their most recent album "When You Cut Into The Present" I was not expecting something so avant-guard with Free Jazz leanings. This is not a record to put on as background music(haha) unless you like getting annoyed(ask my daughter). Yes I think Free Jazz might be the most difficult sub-genre for me to appreciate but when you give your full attention to this beast it might still be difficult but man it's so rewarding and impressive. MOSTER! is the brainchild of Kjetil Moster who plays a variety of saxophones and includes MOTORPSYCHO's guitarist Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan and their drummer Kenneth Kapstad, along with ELEPHANT9's bass player Nikolai Haengsle Eilertsen. There is a definite theme to this instrumental album when you read the song titles and look at the album cover and it's title "Inner Earth".

First we get a four song suite with each track blending into the next called "Descending Into The Crater". The first track is subtitled "Poutanian Debate" and it begins with keyboard sounds, atmosphere and more. This is experimental and we get these liquid sounds before 1 1/2 minutes. The sax starts to make some noise before 3 minutes and I like the tension with rumbling drums around 4 minutes in. It blends into "Central Sunrise" where the sax eventually starts to drone as we also get atmosphere and guitar expressions. It becomes sparse sounding later as it blends into "Magma Movement". This is dark and somewhat ominous with not a lot going on until the guitar lets out a cry that is hair raising and that will come and go then the sax arrives 3 minutes in but in a reserved manner. More guitar after 4 minutes as the sax continues. Love the distortion from the guitar. This blends into "Mount Vesuvio" as we get some bass sax and distorted guitar lines. There's a dark undercurrent here and check out the dissonant sax after 3 1/2 minutes. I'm thinking Miles Davis despite it being a sax and not a trumpet. Insane! Sounds echo late to end it.

"Tearatorn" has such an innovative intro with the sax and guitar making unusual sounds as the percussion supports in a random way. It kicks into gear before 2 1/2 minutes with the sax out-front. Angular guitar after 3 minutes as it seems to build slowly. Dissonant sax 4 minutes in and I'm thinking ELEPHANT9 after 5 minutes with that drumming as the distorted guitar rips it up over top. It's really intense 8 minutes in then it settles back a minute later with tribal-like drumming as the sax lights it up. The bass is throbbing after 11 minutes and check out the cool sound 12 1/2 minutes in. Angular guitar follows. It settles down 14 minutes in to the end. "Underworld Risk" has these intricate drum patterns along with guitar that I'd describe in the same way. A sparse sounding intro as honking sax arrives and the guitar turns nasty as the drums continue. It's building 3 1/2 minutes in and I like the bass here. Man this is intense and check out the sound 4 minutes in as the sax lets loose. An all out assault 6 minutes in. Hide the women and children for the love of God!

A difficult listen for sure but man when giving this my full attention with the headphones on there's a huge "wow factor" in play. For fans of adventerous music only.

MOSTER! is named after it's leader and sax player extraordinaire Kjetil Moster. On this their latest release we have the bass player from ELEPHANT9 and NEEDLEPOINT while on drums and guitar we get the MOTORPSYCHO members. As the bio mentions a good comparison to their sound here might be if ELEPHANT9 replaced their keyboardist with a sax player.

"Nebula And The Red Giant" opens with sounds that cry out of the atmosphere which goes on for some time until it kicks into gear after 2 1/2 minutes bringing ELEPHANT9 to mind until the sax starts lighting it up 3 minutes in. Some killer drum work here too. The sax stops before 6 minutes but it's back a minute later wailing away. "Bandha" has this funky groove to it thanks to the bass as experimental sounds play over top. It's the bass sax turn to play over top 2 minutes in. I like the guitar a lot starting before 3 1/2 minutes as it starts to play over top as the lead instruments continue to trade off.

"The Future Leaks Out" has sparse sounds that come and go until we eventually get this steady beat as experimental sounds continue. It's more powerful before 3 minutes as the sax comes in making some noise. Check out the sound 5 1/2 minutes in, powerful and experimental. Man this is insanity. Finally a break after 7 minutes as it winds down. "Journey" is mellow with lazy sax expressions until a change arrives 2 minutes in as we get a calm with percussion and bass. Love the guitar a minute later. A trippy tune not so surprisingly considering the title of this one. "Soundhouse Rumble" features heavy drums and deep sounds as the bass sax joins in. The guitar lights it up 3 1/2 minutes in as we get a big finish.

It's been a pleasure checking out the music of MOSTER!, and while I prefer ELEPHANT9 to them people really need to check out this talented band from Norway. A very solid 4 stars.