WATERFALL CITIES

OK. Lemme preface this review by addressing one of the main critisisms that the Ozrics are tagged with: that basically, if you've heard one Ozrics album, you've heard them all. I will not even attempt to counter this arguement: this is a band that throughout its career has done one thing (and in my opinion has done extremely well). Over the 20+ year career of this band the basic sound has not changed much: Hot bass and drum grooves coupled with burbling keyboard effects topped off by tasty electric guitar licks. No arguement here, as a super huge fan of this band I would be the first to agree that they are essentially a one trick pony.

That being said, as a fan (and as someone who owns everything (well...mostly everything) this band has ever done), certain albums stand out. This is one for me. I don't know what it is about this album, but it is one that I find myself continually drawn to.

For the uninitiated, I would have to say that this, Jurassic Shift, or Erpland would make a great starting point, simply because after hearing all of the material, those are my faves. And to be honest, the title track of this one is probably my favorite track of all time by this band.

So basically here's the recommendation: If the idea of the Grateful Dead crossed with techno music appeals to you, man, you've simply gotta check these guys out. For prog fans who are more into lyrics (of which there are none) or classic prog structure...pick any one of the albums...if you dont dig it, look no further, you'll not find much difference.

But as a huge fan who regularly enjoys almost everything these guys have ever released, I gotta recommend this one.

For fans of the Dead, Gong, Steve Hillage, Krautrock, great grooves, or hallucinogens...I think there's something you'll take away from this one.