TEA AT TWO

It seems Austria will never be among the heavyweights when it comes to contributing to the prog genre, but Krautrock band Ixthuluh made a bold attempt in the late 1970's and early 80's to fly their flag. "Tea for two", the band's third studio album recorded in 1980, is generally hailed as their most accomplished and coherent. Quite why this is though, is hard for me to grasp!

By this time, the band revolved around guitarist Dita Lasser and drummer Ernst Matscheko, who brought in guest musicians as required. The assembled group would often swap instruments during lengthy jams, not always ending up with one with which they were familiar!

While the album consists of eight tracks in total, over half of it is occupied by two tracks each lasting 24 minutes. The first of these, "Forbidden fruits" is a never-ending jam with psychedelic and space rock influences, but a distinct lack of focus! "The long trail to Gila bridge" opens with some Shadows like improvised guitar, the entire track consisting of bass, guitar and drums only. During its (what seems like) week long tenure, the musicians swap instruments, resulting in what is technically known as a complete mess.

The opening "Welcome, touch me" is a sparse piece, devoid of any real melody, but featuring some reasonable guitar noodling. This gives way to the 12 minute "Sittin' on my lonely chair", the most rock based song on the album. Unfortunately, the prime achievement of the track is to highlight why the band tends to stick to instrumentals, the vocals being decidedly tuneless. Apart from the vocals, only guitar and drums are used on the track, leaving it sounding rather lifeless.

The shorter tracks are equally rambling, even the sax on "So sad" adds nothing to a bass loaded ramble.

I readily admit that this type of music is not what I favour. Normally however, I will willingly acknowledge the technical ability of the band members, even if I am left cold by the music itself. When however the band members start playing instruments they are unfamiliar with, they pass beyond mere indulgence, and leave themselves open to accusations of being disrespectful to their audience. In short, I can find no redeeming features here whatsoever.

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