TIME IS THE DRUG

ColorStar is a psychedelic/space rock band that has lately ventured more into the trance/dance spectrum of the genre. The earlier albums were more like the traditional style of the genre, where now things are more electronic and modernized, sometimes resulting in a great sound, other times just becoming too repetitive and trance-like. The album 'Time is the Drug' is their 8th album since their debut in 1998.

'Opening Theme (Landing in the D-Zone)' starts off in an atmospheric way with a lot of electronic processing and manipulation and there are all kinds of neat effects and sounds which even includes some vocal effects. Right away, it is noticeable that this is excellent and interesting, psychecdelic and spacey, yes, but also very innovative with a heavy use of electronics. After 2 minutes of atmosphere, the theme is played in a James Bond style with deep guitars and a clicking rhythmic pattern and vocals in the mix. Very nice. This is followed by the upbeat 'Information' which features layers of vocals and a catchy electronically driven sound. The music seems inspired by the Krautrock sound, but very much updated and based off of various chords, not just one. The sound is also very modern. Half way through, there is a cool guitar solo and vocal effects with the beat staying constant and improvisation is built around the single chord in the Krautrock/Space Rock style.

'Sophie' has a definite funk vibe to it as the rhythm builds, there are spoken vocals which change to subdued airy wordless vocals. The track is built around a conversation between a human and a robot. The sound is also very Techno-European and quite danceable. 'Across the Desert' begins with a guitar loop riff and bongos, probably electronic though. Vocals (which feature guest Ruby Harlem) begin off of this more minimal beginning, but a steady rhythm is established later and there is that desert feel to it with a more mid East vibe to it. Things get a little too repetitive for my taste by the end of this 8 minute track. 'System Error' moves to a more trance-like feel with a rapid bass line and faster, yet tricky rhythm. Vocals are made up of field recordings and spoken word, mostly about space. Rapid notes come from the percussive guitar and synths give it an almost cinematic feel.

'Humanoid Model' begins with spoken word again, this time with a nice percussive rhythm loops and guitars. There is a world music vibe to this track. After a few minutes, singing vocals come in, sometimes layered. The beat becomes more solid as it continues. 'It's All Around' is a nice upbeat techno-space track with a deeper lyrical content than before. There are also field recordings mixed in there. 'Fly' continues with a heavy fast beat, but has a lusher sound and an almost 'Yello' style to it with a countermelody in the synth, separate from the vocals and a guitar improvisation built over it all in the 2nd half. The last track is the title track 'Time is the Drug' that has a run time of over 10 minutes. This track is more trance based and goes on too long except for a short guitar section.

The album isn't bad, and some of the tracks are quite interesting and good, but it seems that it tends to lean toward a dance vibe more than it does a progressive sound. The best tracks are the ones on the first half of the album that tend to take on the 'Orb' style and take cues from space rock and krautrock, where the 2nd half of the album becomes too disco sounding with less of the interesting effects and styles of the first half. Anyway, it all evens out to 3 stars in the end.