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The Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle CD (album) cover

PUZZLE

The Mandrake Memorial

 

Psychedelic/Space Rock

3.52 | 17 ratings

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DamoXt7942
Forum & Site Admin Group
Avant/Cross/Neo/Post Teams
3 stars As honestly I say, this album is too difficult for me to digest up.

Such a challenging album "Puzzle" gets started with mellow and lyrical string sounds sent out by Craig's electronics. This beginning of Earthfriend Prelude ~ Earthfriend can always excite listeners with palpitation. Exactly a magnificent view of sound constructed by a graceful guitar, slow but steady drums, beautiful electronics, and enthusiastic Randy's voices, we can meet. On the contrary, very fascinating are Craig's acoustic guitar and plaintive electric piano sound in Just A Blur ~ Hiding suite ... each instrument or voice is very cozy and delightful for us. Yes, their soundscape can directly immerse into our mind space. Randy's passion cannot stop even in the next track Tedpole ... as if his voices can erase other primitive instrumental roles. No, no, Craig cannot lose ... Kyrie and Ocean's Daughter are his tracks, absolutely full of psychedelically echoic sound shower by his ingenious electronic machine gun. We can call the former part of this album "The Comfort Zone", can't we?

Atmosphere should be altered anytime ... Volcano Prelude ~ Volcano with whacked warped sounds is another world. Persistently scattered sound magma pop from Volcano, we imagine? This part can be thought as the most experimental and challenging one. With an angel share named Whisper Play thrown into the middle, a Space Rock-flavoured strict song Bucket Of Air comes here. Keen frozen air-like electronic sounds and sticky drumming are a bit exaggerated at least for me indeed ... but please understand their inner space, or their close-to-the-edge shouts shortly before disbandment? This dangerous situation might appear the next song Children's Prayer - somehow guess not prayer of children but shouts on their mind. Yup therefore Puzzle the poppy song is a bit puzzling, like as scattered pieces of a puzzle in the end. Even the last track Just A Blur (Version 3), such a quiet ending, should let us imagine not safe & sound but vacancy of mind.

Suppose they wanted to notify us their extremely altered state of inner space? Very tough to understand.

DamoXt7942 | 3/5 |

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