SEHR KOSMISCH, GANZ PROGISCH

When guitarist-producer Jacob HOLM-LUPO (WHITE WILLOW, THE OPIUM CARTEL), flutist-keyboard player Ketil Vestrum EINARSEN (WHITE WILLOW, JAGA JAZZIST, WOBBLER, MOTORPSYCHO), guitarist Gaute STORSVE (RHYS MARSH) and drummer extraordinaire Mattias OLSSON (ÄNGLAGÅRD, PINEFOREST CRUNCH, PÄR LINDH, WHITE WILLOW, THE OPIUM CARTEL, NECROMONKEY) get together to create an album of music in tribute to the Kosmische Music (Krautrock) artists of the 1970s you can bet it's going to be a good one. And it is! Each song on the album is like listening to a drum, keyboard, and guitar clinic. It's as if JAGA JAZZIST and CAN were merged--as if Lars and Martin HORNTVETH were collaborating with Jaki LIEBEZEIT in this, the 21st Century, with all of the gizmos and effects that give 21st Century musicians such versatility and variety. The bass is often keyboard or computer driven, but it works. Mattias' drumming blends computer technologies with the live kit sounds. The keyboard and guitar sounds and techniques used are all over the place. Overall, the music is derivative, yet experimental; it's rhythmic and yet avant; it's militaristic yet psychedelic. It's genius!

1. "Tanzen Und Springen" (9:44) the most melodically memorable song on the album but perhaps the least adventurous. Nice lead guitar work (especially the Todd Rundgren-like work in the ninth and tenth minutes). (9.25/10)

2. "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde" (15:42) starts off very etheral/ambient before electronic drums and deep synth washes take over. Such a deeply engaging song--definitely one of the highlights of 2016/2017 for me. Even the "copied" Pink Floyd "Time" reverbed rototoms and the Holger Czukay-like radio samples in the last three minutes are wonderful inclusions. (9.75/10)

3. "Kunst Der Fuge" (12:02) AMAZING drums and awesome organ/keyboard work. (9.5/10)

4. "Tristrant" (8:48) with the sound base of a 1980s song by ABC (there's so much of that 80s retro sound going around, why not in Kosmische Musik?) Great synth, winds, and percussion work. I love the cacophonic buildup in the second half and then the slow release toward the end. (9.25/10)

Five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music and a brilliant shot in the arm for the resurgent Kosmische Musick scene.