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Polytoxicomane Philharmonie - Go Ape CD (album) cover

GO APE

Polytoxicomane Philharmonie

 

Psychedelic/Space Rock

4.04 | 9 ratings

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Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Thanks to Guldbamsen I was able to review POLYTOXICOMANE PHILHAMONIE's 2003 debut which blew me away causing me to give it the full five stars. "Go Ape" is their third record and the most recent recording, and it's a double album from 2009. I have to say that this is one of the more adventerous bands out there and they have some great ideas, maybe not so surprising since they are from Germany. The subject matter of this particular double album is all about "Gorillas" and we get plenty of samples, lots of atmosphere along with a mainly Psychedelic/ Jazz motif that is often quite "out there". Entertaining is the word with male and female vocals in English.

Disc one starts with "Dervish" which has an energetic horn led start that is impressive. When it settles back I'm thinking ANEKDOTEN. Male and female vocals after 1 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in. The vocals are back as they come and go. Sampled spoken words follow and this goes on for some time then the horns return before 6 minutes. A calm with whispered female vocals and more after 9 minutes then those whispers become spoken, then theatrical bringing to mind BRAINTICKET's debut. Back to the mellow sound with female vocals before it kicks in again after 12 1/2 minutes, horns too. Some aggressive guitar follows.

"Fine Animal Gorilla" has a spacey atmosphere to begin with as drums and guitar join in and build. The guitar becomes upfront before 2 minutes as male vocals join in. When he sings 3 minutes in I'm thinking LEGENDARY PINK DOTS. The backing female vocals add a lot. Interesting how they sing a question about gorillas then answer it. Suddenly we get sounds from the jungle 7 minutes in as the music stops, so cool. "Spoonful Of Majoun" turns me right off early on with that Latino Pop music that sounds like a Ricky Martin song. Thankfully it short lived although it will return briefly later on. I do like how powerful it gets before 5 minutes instrumentally which is followed with a Eastern vibe. Some interesting male vocals later on then some ripping guitar before 8 1/2 minutes.

"Catwalk For Little Monsters" opens with male vocals and a fairly powerful sound at times. A relaxed sound takes over 2 1/2 minutes in and it stays this way until around 7 1/2 minutes when we get theatrical female vocals and a more passionate soundscape. It settles again before they kill it after 12 minutes. Nice. Disc two begins with "Open Letter To Albert H." and like outside my window here it's raining as horns and more join in. Suddenly it becomes freaky with samples. High pitched male vocals take over along with spoken words as it settles right down. It turns a little insane after 6 minutes and someone is yelling a minute later. Mellotron-like sounds after 9 minutes then more insanity after 11 minutes. Some powerful organ drones late.

"Apollo-Jive Beneath The Moon" hits the ground running but it settles down when the female vocals arrive. Male vocals and some aggressive guitar 7 1/2 minutes in. "Etude #27" is less than 5 minutes of spooky and experimental music that does bring some suspense later on. "Dryad Girl" is my favourite. And it's not because it's the longest tune at almost 19 minutes. Spacey winds as a drum roll kicks in followed by reserved female vocals, horns and drums. It kicks into gear before 2 minutes followed by some nasty guitar expressions. It settles down after 5 minutes and it sounds like vibes here with those spacey winds. Love the guitar expressions that follow in all that atmosphere. So good! A horn arrives after 11 minutes. This is trippy and then the horns get dissonant 14 minutes in followed by a calm with whispered female vocals. The guitar is back.

An ambitious release to say the least where they no doubt put a lot of time and effort into this. We get 92 minutes of music about apes, go figure. An excellent recording that's not without it's flaws, still an easy 4 stars from yours truly. Check out this band!

Mellotron Storm | 4/5 |

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