MOTORPSYCHO & STÅLE STORLØKKEN: THE DEATH DEFYING UNICORN

Everything about it reeks of ambition. The colorful, but non-sensical title. The overly verbose introduction. The double CD format (which could have been easily shaved into a single 70-minute killer CD, by the way). The inclusion of both a jazz AND a string orchestra.

Well, despite the promise of combining a heavy prog band with an ear for pop with a jazz orchestra, this isn't some sort of a fusion album. Its more of an experimental rock (in the Crimsonian way) /symphonic prog album with jazz horns that serve mainly to add atmosphere or dissonance or to substitute rock riffs. There aren't many "proper" rock songs here - especially the middle bunch are atmospheric mood-setters of a ship lost at sea and sailing into doom. I've heard this album described as inaccessible. It may be true, but not entirely. It can be playful and at the end, even tap-dancing.