AKRANANIA

Acquired in a trade, this second album from the killer Chilean AR group (now a sextet with the addition of a percussionist) is the confirmation that their debut was no fluke. Indeed AR insist on black artwork (this time with a touch of red), as if they made an gothic obsessions, but the important thing is the music, which is darker, rougher and more dense at times

The Crimsonoïd spectrum of the first album is respected, but there is a harder more Avant aesthetics that is explored. Musically you might even draw up a comparison to a very serious X-Legged Sally, this due to the dual sax attack, but the Belgian absurd and Zappa-esque goofiness are completely absent. When the twin barrel sax-attack are not firing from all cylinders, than the guitar is certainly anchoring the group's sound in a powerful rock realm that can't be denied. The opening track seems to mix Morricone with Ornette Coleman as would the aptly -titled follow-up (recurrences), as it embraces the same musical realm.

Although AR is an (almost) instrumental group, it manages to deliver some messages loud and clear, beit musically or by naming their tracks. I won't go into politics, but it seems quite clear that the band's stance on religion is soundly left wing. Followed by a short hard-driving demented track, Survector, the track oscillates between pure hard rock and almost pure jazz and settling on a jazz-rock. In the same direction Soula is cvlose to standard traditional jazz with the full works, including rhythmic electric guitar, stand-up bass and very j Adderley-esque saxes. This leaves Nimboestrato (I guess they refer to the cloud types here) and the 12-mins finale Dementia Asorbante, which seems to be the centrepiece of the album despite being placed at the back of it. If the first boasts some UZ chamber rock influences, you'll find that the same can be said for the finale's first section, but in its middle section, you'd choose either Magma's Kobaian chants or Gong's cosmic whispers. If I kept these two tracks for last, it's because the former also has a macabre choir passage,, much like the closing track, when the rest of the album is without any other vocals.

Taking on an unexpected RIO turn after their mostly Crimsonoïd debut album, AR certainly made tAkranania an outstanding sophomore album, when many others experience a jinx, and despite the group's closing temporarily the gates in the ultimate seconds of the album, I'll be curious to see whether the doors they opened for themselves will lead them