TIMOTHY'S MONSTER

Within only one year after the release of Demon Box, Motorpsycho would create the last album of their sort of grunge era trilogy. Lobotomizer consisted of well played stoner rock and grunge music that was both empowering yet unique enough to make them a little more far fetched from the usual grunge bands at the time. Demon Box would expand on it, issuing more songs with a wider scope of genres from folk to indie rock. Now we get into the penultimate album of this trilogy, Timothy's Monster where instead of going for a more diverse output, they decide to refine one of their strengths in one of the genres they attempted in Demon Box as they start to transition away from the grunge and stoner scenes to more newer ventures.

The album is split into 2 CDs. The first CD is a lot more focused on indie and alt rock jams like Trapdoor and Wearing Yr Smell. A lot of these tracks contain very masterfully done segments that are very fast moving with no time to stop. The longest track on the first cd, Giftland, shows off a lot of what the band is capable of within a longer musical timeframe. A slow moving melody as each minute introduces more and more as the song gets more structured and heavier, applying some techniques they used within Demon Box to create this very elaborate piece of music. My favorite song on here, and on the entire album, is the one after Giftland, which is Watersound. Just how it weaves around this acoustical melody until it bursts out into this strange and off putting electronic movement of sound that suckers punch you in the gut. While not as heavy as Demon Box or Lobotomizer, the band still finds a way to make your head spin.

Despite the album's consistency, each song on the first CD is still incredibly varied across the board, creating the best use of their musicianship as each of these three guys make their way around each number. It comes to a point where I dare to say this may be their first Prog rock album through this feat, though maybe Prog adjacent or crossover Prog could be the better descriptor within this first CD. Either way each of these songs are incredibly well done.

Most Prog heads would get more of a kick out of the second CD, which starts off with the long 16 minute epic of The Wheel. Within its 16 minutes, the band creates this moving melody that drives the song forward like a truck. It is a much better improvement compared to what was found on Demon Box with its long 17 minute titular epic. It moves across its landscape in fun and interesting ways, never deviating from its clear path, but always going to new places. If I had to guess what it could feel like, I'd say it is much like going on a road trip across a country to get to your house. You have a clear destination, and you never deviate from it, but you are still going to new places, and experiencing new changes you might've never even had before. I have had that experience before where I drove through the country just so I could get back home due to an incredibly delayed flight. So as I went through the country I'd visit pit stops and other places for food or drinks for the drive, and experience new things that I hadn't done before. This is what this song feels like, and the fact it is called The Wheel, and you know cars have wheels, it makes sense that this song is a very roadly epic.

The rest of the songs on CD 2 are a lot shorter though, with Sungravy and Grindstone being only 4 and 7 minutes, but either way they are still really well made, and I'd say at equal terms with The Wheel in enjoyment and execution.

The last song on here though is the real kicker for CD 2, and that is The Golden Core. It is a slow moving, uprising song that starts quietly but ends with a glorious crescendo as it weaves around a multitude of interesting and greatly made segments, each one more profound than the last. It is the only Motorpsycho song I'd call post rock, as it increases itself much like that of something from Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Fren. However they also keep their own identity intact with the songs that came before on this record. I'd say while CD 1 is masterfully well made, CD 2 is 100% the highlight on this record with the two longer tracks in it, and with it makes this album a well made masterpiece in alternative rock history, and is the best album they have released in their early career as a grunge/stoner rock band.

This album is a well made listen front to back. Each song is crafted expertly with some being masterpieces in their own right. It makes the band unfold onto themselves as they start to get an understanding of what they wanna do with their albums. This is the first of many diverse classics the band would produce in the 90s, and as we see within their next album, they would showcase they were more than just a hard rock band.