EOXXV

Gosh, how time flies! Meanwhile we are noticing the band's 25th anniversary! In the light of this event they have decided to release a double CD (on Fleisch) respectively tripple LP (via Adansonia). A good reason for a short retrospective at first. Originally initiated more as an experimental solo project, keyboarder Dirk Jan Müller started in 1992 recording and releasing songs. The album 'Cyberdelic' (1996) then manifested the begin of a very fruitful collaboration with Dirk Bittner, and the progress towards a real band. Both will represent the stable and congenial core furthermore. Josef Ahns (guitar, flute) then would follow as a steady member for some years, until, while continuing with the highly acclaimed 'Morbus' album in 2007, Tom Rückwald (bass) decided to enter the crew.

Since 2008 the current line up will be completed due to Georg Monheim. Deep respect to the previous drummers, but with his unique percussion style he definitely managed to add a special note to the band's sound. Musically ELECTRIC ORANGE are standing for a modernized interpretation of the 'good old' krautrock spirit. While combining some main ingredients, which are classic space rock, tribal percussions, hypnotic rhythms as well as ambient progressive electronics. This based on a proper amount of improvisation and experimentalism by using a lot of exceptional instruments. Well, the murky front cover solely will come into effect actually regarding the vinyl version, I would say. Since 'Misophonia' at least relatively dark-coloured visuals are dominating, probably aimed at complementing with their somewhat doomy melancholic soundscapes.

Content-wise it appears that some leftovers from previous sessions are given, I assume. The first CD is comprised of three tracks, recorded early 2013, hence originally to be designed for 'Volume 10' most likely. Where hereby Gnosis solely appears on the compact disc version with Tom using an acoustic bass! Continuum is a really gripping affair, mirrors the global EO sound and spirit at its best. Groovy and floating parts are constantly alternating, you won't have any damn clue in which direction this is going to flow. Bass, drums, keyboard and guitar are swirling around with fantastic interaction. Second CD starts with two further 'Misophonia' partitions, recorded in 2016 where IV does not really meet my taste due to its depressive atmosphere overall. Additionally two excerpts appear, which are relatively new, recorded in January 2017 precisely defined.

Very convincing according to my taste. Faint and Residuum yet again are offering a wonderful meandering and spacey execution over the course of nearly 40 minutes. Provided with the option to really tune out for some time. The bass playing sounds rather different here. A lonely dog is barking towards the end, probably a mysterious sign pointing to the next album which will follow? 'EOXXV' is a considerable achievement, a good album comprised of extended and rather loose jams. Newbies shouldn't necessarily start with this one. Die-hard ELECTRIC ORANGE fans will get their money's worth though in any case, as the band once again confirms a very unique atmosphere throughout.

German band Electric Orange have been around in some form for twenty five years now, founded by Dirk Jan Müller, a multi- instrumentalist who primarily handles keyboards (and also recently started a well-received Berlin School-influenced prog- electronic side-project Cosmic Ground). Over their early years, alongside frequent contributor Dirk Bittner, the group was mostly occupied by guests and/or a rotating door of varied musicians, but a settled line-up of the band eventually found their calling in heavy Krautrock-flavoured ambient jams on their most recent works. To commemorate their anniversary, Dirk and the group have delivered three very different and worthy works this year, with the main focus being on `EOXXV', an expansive 134-minute set that falls somewhere between a new studio work and compilation (the recordings date from 2013 to January of this year), and for your money you get a lavish triple LP set or a double CD collection of superb Krautrock jams that frequently run to over twenty minutes in length each.

`Continuum' opens the album like many of the improvisations here and on recent Electric Orange works, blending long stretches of slowly unfolding ambient electronic drones, dusty distortion-laced guitar atmospheres and rumbling bass grumbles turned in multiple unpredictable directions by unrelenting drumming, the band expertly lifting in drama and retreating again over and over. Grumbling fluid bass ruminations and trippy guitar shimmers permeate `Under The Nun' around ethereal electronic canvasses, searing Mellotron bursts and slowly growing spacey swirling Hammond organ swells (that often call to mind the `Inside/Floating' psychedelic period of vintage German symphonic band Eloy). The sublime `Gnosis' (sadly only included on the CD edition) is spiced with the most subtle of delicate jazzy flavours among its glacial synth pools and lightly pattering drums that eventually take on a hypnotic tribal beat-like grasp, the piece taking a dangerous turn with some maddening fiddle slices and wavering electronic shivers in the finale.

There's an uncomfortable unease to the first half of `Misophonia IV's rumbling and brooding faraway ambient sound-collages that float and shimmer in unhurried hallucinogenic washes, with the piece soon moving in and out of tense drumming hypnotics, nightmarish psychedelics and stormy distortion melts. `Misophonia V' glides between dreamy mellow guitars, ethereal synth caresses and cacophonous flurries of wild drumming, the final crashing moments of `Faint' with its pounding mountain-sized drumbeat stomping down on everything in its path has to be heard to be believed, and album closer `Residuum' is equally a lulling space-music collage and darker ambient distortion drone with moments of blissful life- affirming touches.

`EOXXV' jumps back and forth between `kind of more of the same' as the last few studio releases, and serious contender for one of the albums of the year. While several tracks follow a similar pattern and the album is far too long, each individual piece is an outstanding Krautrock jam of heady sounds and exploratory colour all its own, and to have them compiled in the one place makes it a very attractive release. If you're a massive EO fan and not bothered by the fact that parts of the album mine similar ground to `Volume 10', `Misophonia' and `Würzburg Cairo 2015', then `EOXXV' will make a huge impression on you and make for yet another first-rate modern Krautrock work from one of the best heavy psych bands going around today.

Four and a half stars.