YAY!

Another year, another Motorpsycho release. Due to me reviewing this band's past discography up until this point, I feel like I am a bit indebted to them. That being said, they have not stopped with their cunning ideals of creating interesting prog rock music, though they took a back seat with the more illustrious heavy jams that we saw on their last 3 albums of this decade, and into a bit of a different direction.

Yay! is an album that is a direct 180 from the heaviness of their former albums, being a lot less proggy in its image, and to more of a psych folk/pop direction, whilst still holding true to those Motorpsycho quirks we all know and love.

Now, not many people, especially prog fans might like this direction, but for me I actually am quite thrilled for what they put on display. I feel like you can get away with very proggy jams and displays for a while, but soon it does get tiring having to hear a long 20 minute song over and over again, so I actually really appreciate Motorpsycho for changing things up and going in a different direction.

For the sound itself, it is actually a really top tier display of psychedelia folk and pop for me, going for these moody melodies that feel very sweet to the ears. I love how it all drips with this chilled out reflection and attitude, as if the band, in a more metaphysical context, decided to wind down for the night and relax with some hot chocolate whilst watching a movie. I love Motorpsycho for their frantic and fast jams, do not get me wrong, but I also think that taking a focus to more melodic and slower stuff actually works really well in their favor. I mean, look at tracks like Patterns and Real Again, with those beautiful melodies and picturesque vibes. Most of the songs here definitely set a new standard for this psych sound, and one that I really appreciate going forward.

However, this album does have a problem and that is the fact I do not really think the last three tracks work all that well. I think Hotel Daedalus, while a really good track, simply does not fit the album at all, in fact it sounds something off of the Gullvåg trilogy more than anything. As for Scaredcrow, I feel like that song should've stayed off the record. It is virtually nothing. Lastly, The Rapture, is a good song but I am not fond of the weird reverb it has with the mixing, and I feel like the guitar solo near past the halfway point just doesn't quite work out too well. Now, again, these songs (besides Scaredcrow) aren't bad, but I think they do not quite work to the album's credits. Definitely not the worst tracks to cap this album off, but they feel pretty out of place in regards to the rest of the record.

I can tell this album might not be the most popular, as Motorpsycho fans more likely will prefer the huge jams they come up with, but I do not think it'll be hated to no end. I say check it out, I really like it, and who knows it might be your thing too, and it might mark a completely new era for the band, one that explores more of the psychedelic headspace then what was found in the past 2 decades.

Ever since discovering Motorpsycho with 2010's Heavy Metal Fruit, I've been a big fan. Until last year I'd always assumed they were authors of sweeping prog concept albums like Unicorn but then I went back into their old discography--back to the 1990s and early 2000s--where I discovered some very cool, very melodic psychedelic pop music. so that Phanerothyme had lept to become my favorite album of theirs. So, when I heard about this album--and then heard the music--my reaction was "It's about time! I've been waiting--hoping--for this!"And then to find out that guitar hero Reine Fiske had a role in the production of this album! What a dream come true! I mean, I've LOVED his work with previous Motorpsycho albums (2013's Still Life with Eggplant, 2014's Behind the Sun, 2020's The All Is One)-- but that'd always been as a player/performer. This is different. I am so excited for this album!

1. "Cold & Bored" (4:01) The Association (8.875/10)

2. "Sentinels" (4:22) beautiful Simon & Garfunkle vocals with a wonderfully spacious, delicate instrumental passage in the middle--all over hand percussion! (9.25/10)

3. "Patterns" (5:11) the Robin Guthrie guitars in the background and heavy.thick electric bass up front and center are the highlights of this one for me. (8.875/10)

4. "Dank State" (3:18) a song that feels as if it came straight out of the folk-rock movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s (or the Nugrass movement of the late 1990s and Naughties). (8.66667/10)

5. "W.C.A." (4:15) multiple acoustic guitars strumming away while Bent sings and countrified guitar/sitar-like guitar leads beneath. The keyboards (uncredited) and/or tuned percussion are also quite good. I'm hearing what sounds like a kind of ALLMAN BROTHERS tribute/revival. (8.875/10)

6. "Real Again (Norway Shrugs and Stays at Home)" (3:03) another very sensitive song that sounds like it comes straight from a 1960s Simon & Garfunkle album. (8.75/10)

7. "Loch Meaninglessness & the Mull of Dull" (2:54) more Paul Simon vocals though never as biting or politically- oriented as Paul was known for. The subtle presence of other instruments in occasional support and/or embellishment is handled quite masterfully. There's quite a little folk/country-western/even British folk-rock feel to this music. (8.75/10)

8. "Hotel Daedalus" (7:46) Wow! I was not expecting this! James Bond theme song bombast with some wonderful Duane Allman-like guitar playing. The beautifully harmonized vocals from the opening notes are powerful, sensitive, and gorgeously melodic but the Duane Allman/(Reine Fiske) lead guitar work is the real showstopper here (though I also love the rhythm guitar work, drums, and chunky distorted BASS). The stripped down, conga-supported instrumental passage in the fourth minute is simply to DIE FOR--especially as the big thick bass and wall of orchestral strings join in. I am in tears! it's so beautiful, so emotional! This is definitely the high point of my 2023 listening (so far). And that's not even mentioning the lead guitar work! Coming out of the beautifully bombastic instrumental theme with some BREAD-like strumming guitar and groove-walking bass playing, Bent finishes it off with his beautiful vocal. Definitely a top three song for me. Maybe the best song of 2023. (It's definitely in the running!) (15/15)

9. "Scaredcrow" (1:50) an excellent comedown from the emotional output of the previous song. (Thank you!) This just shows what masters of putting together an album of music these gentlemen are. (4.5/5)

10. "The Rapture" (5:28) Another acoustic guitar strumming song over which Bent uses his Paul Simon voice and lyrics delivery approach. Bass, more stings, piano, strings, congas, even Mellotron each join in, seemingly one at a time, one line at a time, before we get to the powerful ARCADE FIRE/THE DECEMBERISTS-like chorus delivery. Cool song. The lead guitar(s) interplay with the full orchestra strings is really cool--like a classic Jimmy Webb song ("Wichita Lineman," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"). Great ending to a great album. (8.875/10)

Total Time 42:08

With so many vocal styles and sounds on display throughout this album (yes, even the voice timbres seem to change from song to song) I can't help but marvel at A) Bent's talents and B) the engineering talents employed for this album's production.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive folk rock music--something that conjures so many great sounds, songs, and bands from the 1960s and 1970s yet, as usual, has the distinctive freshness that Motorpsycho always lends to its compositions. Definitely a masterfully constructed and produced album. And check out Bent's chameleonic vocal abilities! If you do anything today, listen to "Hotel Daedelus" on Bandcamp!