CHILD OF THE FUTURE

Child of the Future is Motorpsycho's 13 full length studio album. It is also one of their shorter albums at just over 37 minutes. It was released as a celebration of the bands 20th anniversary and was only released on vinyl. It has a somewhat rough edge to the production almost giving it a live feeling. The mixing is done so as to not let anything stand out above anything else and this works to the album's benefit in some aspects, but works against it in others.

Some of the tracks have a definite psychedelic and space rock style which is helped along by the fuzzy production and flat mixing sound like in the tracks "Riding the Tiger" and the multi-tempo track "Whole Lotta Diana", which actually makes the track very 70s like (as the layered vocals of Jefferson Airplane or the instrumental jamming of Hawkwind). In this manner, these songs sound more loyal to the old space rock and krautrock styles. In other places, you get that cleaner hard rock sound as in "The Ozzylot (Hidden in a Girl)", the vulnerability of the more mellow and psych-acoustic "The Waiting Game" or the complexity of "Mr. Victim".

Another standout is "Cornucopia ( . . . Or Satan, Uh . . . Something)" which leans toward a complex progressive piece along the lines of a Heavy Prog track with some really awesome bass, piano and vocal stylings. You would almost swear you were listening to some early pre-"Joker" Steve Miller Band with the "rough around the edges" feel.

I'm not really sure why this album has only received a few reviews that gave it only an average rating. It may have something to do with the album's availability. I find the album unique and interesting, the songs are much more interesting than on some of their more alternative sounding albums. I especially love the rough sound of this album, almost like it was recorded more off- the-cuff than some of their slicker recordings. It gives the album that authentic space rock and psychedelic feel overall. I understand that this rough sound isn't for everyone, but I think any pure psych/space rock aficionado would love the sound of this album. No, it's not the band's best, but it is definitely better than average, so I give it 4 stars and consider it another one of Motorpsycho's successes.

With Motorpsycho's 13th studio album, and to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary, the group would make an album that'd be a lot more celebratory for their psych and alt rock roots of Timothy's Monster through It's A Love Cult. This resulted in the creation of Child Of The Future.

If there is one thing that stands out from this album, it is the highly appealing psychedelic and space rock structure that the band has mastered through their 20 years of rocking out. This, to me, is one of the album's best regards as each track has this very fun, Hawkwind type feeling that never quite gets boring. It is a wild and crazy experience in of itself, being very much in-line to their more grunge type works, whilst also showcasing more neo- psychedelic influxes that I savor instantly.

I also really like how the band sometimes goes extra hard, sometimes dipping into metal territories with wild drum movements and powerful guitars that get my blood pumping. If there is a possible album that could be classified as psych metal, this would be one of them as this pumps the breaks and creates for an absolutely insane experience.

The more I get into this album, the more I end up liking it, though, there are some things that I am not the hugest fan of.

For one, it is a vinyl only release. The only way I could hear it was through youtube, which honestly sucks since that means there were annoying ads in-between the tracks, which kind of soured my taste. I feel like the album should've been released digitally or on other mediums because, while I like records and the act of collecting them, most of my music I hear is digital, and it sucks that I have to resort to other, less optimal sources just to hear it.

Not only that, but I feel like the production and mixing is kind of muddy. It seems a bit more monotonous then other releases, and there seems to be some grit in the sounds that is a bit annoying to get through. This album is kind of like a swamp in that regard. You may see some cool crocodiles and frogs, but it is still a bit murky to get through and walk in. Even though all of these songs are excellent, I just think the production doesn't allow them to truly shine.

This album definitely needs some polishing up, but even then I find it to be another pleasant experience from the band. They certainly mastered a style and feeling in some regards, and each time they manage to still sweep me off my feet. Child Of The Future is another banger from my favorite Norwegian contemporary group.

The boys from Trondheim are back with #14--and show they're still in their imitation of the classic blues-rock of the 1960s and early 1970s.

1. "The Ozzylot (Hidden in a Girl)" (4:30) CSN&Y (harmonized vocals), The ALLMAN BROTHERS (lead guitar work), as well as the early Doobie Brothers and Eagles come to mind while listening to this one. (8.75/10)

2. "Riding the Tiger" (5:25) U2 bass and drums with some Eric Clapton-like psychedelic lead guitar playing over the top. This definitely harkens back to the 1960s blues-rock of bands like CREAM, SPIRIT, and THE DOORS. Very impressive musicianship, but not enough melody and hook to it. (8.75/10)

3. "Whole Lotta Diana" (8:57) musically, one can definitely hear the inspiration of LED ZEPPELIN behind this one, but vocally--with the harmony vocals used throughout, one can only reflect on the BYRDS and maybe a little CSN&Y and/or THE MOODY BLUES. (17.5/20)

4. "Cornucopia (...or Satan, uh... Something)" (6:24) nice CREAM-like rocker with some interesting softer vocals and great drumming. (8.75/10)

5. "Mr. Victim" (4:17) more hard-drivin' blues rock that harbors strains of LED ZEPPELIN, CARAVAN, as well as the heaviest of the MOODY BLUES. This one suffers from some muddy engineering around the vocal tracks and the guitars. (8.66667/10)

6. "The Waiting Game" (4:57) slowing it down and thinning it out with acoustic guitars, bass, and some warbling distorted synth and electric guitar "noises" in the background. The stoned JOHN LENNON-like singing voice might not be Bent, but "Snah." Transition into BEATLES-like electric guitar chord sequencd at 2:50--a motif that becomes fully developed at the song's very end when the choir vocals sing in full BEATLES/BYRDS mode. Haunting and kinda cool. (8.75/10)

7. "Child of the Future" (5:00) sounds like ANDY PARTRIDGE singing over one of his angular, semi-irritating songscapes. An odd mix of the individual tracks for the drums, bass, guitars and vocals--sounding as if the whole thing was recorded through one single omnidirectional microphone. (8.66667/10)

Total Time: 39:30

I will say, these musicians sure are firing on all cylinders (drummer Kenneth Kapstad really shines): this album contains some of the band's best arrangements and most virtuosic performances; it's too bad it suffers from a few too many "borrowed" ideas and an overall lack of melody. Plus, I don't know what happened, but the sound engineering over the course of the last three songs becomes quite muddy with too much distortion and odd mixing.

B-/four stars; a nice addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you're a retro-lover of that hard rockin' blues-rock of the late 1960s.