TIMOTHY'S MONSTER

The third Motorpsycho full length marks an important step for the band, both in terms of musical ambition and execution. The previous album Demon Box was a very diverse album but it could still largely be tagged as a metal/stoner album. With Timothy's Monster, the band found a more personal mix of heavy indie rock with psychedelic experimentation that fans probably identify as psychonaut-rock.

Timothy's Monster is a 2CD set and presents two entirely different faces of this versatile band. CD1 is a collection of short 90's guitar-rock songs with influences from grunge, indie and shoegazer. It is a pleasant listen but not much more then that. A lot of these songs are good but a bit faceless, fit for college-rock radio stations of their era but no Sonic Youth, Bloody Valentine, Cure or Nirvana for sure. 3.5 for this disc.

CD2 is an entirely different beast and probably of more interest to kraut/space-heads. Especially the 17 minute The Wheel is worth getting the album for, at least for fans of long and well crafted drones. It reminds of Kraut psych trip-rock, soaked in spaced-out feedback, hazy organ and fuzzy sounds. The main point of inspiration might actually have been Monster Magnet's space-rock experiment Tab 25 from the preceding year.

Sungravy offers a gentle and tender acoustic moment of reflection before the band reminds us of their grunge past with the monumental doom sludge of Grindstone. A dead-heavy piece with slowed-down Sabbath riffs, feedback, screams and a repeated ring that sounds as if some of your household equipment is on the verge of exploding. The Golden Core is another lengthy piece, announcing the post-rock that GYBE would push to the mainstream a few years later. Slightly 'off' folk vocals and mellotron join before everything builds up to a wall of sound.

It's impossible to tag this band, a good thing where I'm concerned but probably a bad feature for mainstream success. Recommended if you feel like getting an album that switches from folk, indie and rock to sludge, grunge and psychedelic trips. For sure one of the most fascinating rock bands from the 90s.