MANTRIC MUSE

A band I should have heard about a couple years back when their debut LP was released. Actually this isn't their debut release, as an EP in 1998 called Picks in Space was released, but that one seems forgotten in time. Why the long gap between releases? Well, these guys did help form Øresund Space Collective, so I know that's been taking up so much of their time. I've heard many bands being compared to Ozric Tentacles, like Hidria Spacefolk to Korai Öröm, but those groups seemed to have their own identity not to mistake them for the Ozrics. The Greek band Tidal Flood most definitely sounded like the Ozrics, sadly they never passed releasing an EP called Scientific. So comes Mantric Muse. I am just amazed! I think they're even better than Tidal Flood, and just as good as the Ozrics at their best. Sometimes the Ozrics can be a bit much, Ed Wynne's guitar playing often threatens to drown out the rest of the music (you can often notice the synthesizers and sometimes flute trying to compete, even if some of the synth work is from Ed himself), guitarist Magnus Hannibal isn't quite so over-the-top. Swedish keyboardist Ola Eriksson really gives us great spacy synths in the Ozric grand tradition, and while the techno influence is there, isn't as pronounced as the Ozrics frequently are (I know some Ozric fans have been bothered by the more techno direction they've been headed since Waterfall Cities, or if not, since Brandi hopped on board). You can almost imagine Ola Eriksson being an Ozric member, if the Ozrics were not now a family band. I also really highly recommend this to those who felt the Ozrics lost the plot once they brought in Brandi and became a family band (to be honest I really enjoyed Paper Monkeys). Let's hope Mantric Muse continues to release more albums, but it's really hard telling, Øresund Space Collective could easy take much of their time, given the buzz they have in space rock circles. ØSC has released so much material to the point that only Acid Mother's Temple and Radio Massacre International would rival them in prolific output. Unlike Tidal Flood, who never made it past EP stage, I'm glad Mantric Muse finally gave a full LP, some 15 years after their debut EP. This is an album that all space rock fans, particularly of the Ozric variety, should own.