YAY!

Ever since discovering Motorpsycho with 2010's Heavy Metal Fruit, I've been a big fan. Until last year I'd always assumed they were authors of sweeping prog concept albums like Unicorn but then I went back into their old discography--back to the 1990s and early 2000s--where I discovered some very cool, very melodic psychedelic pop music. so that Phanerothyme had lept to become my favorite album of theirs. So, when I heard about this album--and then heard the music--my reaction was "It's about time! I've been waiting--hoping--for this!"And then to find out that guitar hero Reine Fiske had a role in the production of this album! What a dream come true! I mean, I've LOVED his work with previous Motorpsycho albums (2013's Still Life with Eggplant, 2014's Behind the Sun, 2020's The All Is One)-- but that'd always been as a player/performer. This is different. I am so excited for this album!

1. "Cold & Bored" (4:01) The Association (8.875/10)

2. "Sentinels" (4:22) beautiful Simon & Garfunkle vocals with a wonderfully spacious, delicate instrumental passage in the middle--all over hand percussion! (9.25/10)

3. "Patterns" (5:11) the Robin Guthrie guitars in the background and heavy.thick electric bass up front and center are the highlights of this one for me. (8.875/10)

4. "Dank State" (3:18) a song that feels as if it came straight out of the folk-rock movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s (or the Nugrass movement of the late 1990s and Naughties). (8.66667/10)

5. "W.C.A." (4:15) multiple acoustic guitars strumming away while Bent sings and countrified guitar/sitar-like guitar leads beneath. The keyboards (uncredited) and/or tuned percussion are also quite good. I'm hearing what sounds like a kind of ALLMAN BROTHERS tribute/revival. (8.875/10)

6. "Real Again (Norway Shrugs and Stays at Home)" (3:03) another very sensitive song that sounds like it comes straight from a 1960s Simon & Garfunkle album. (8.75/10)

7. "Loch Meaninglessness & the Mull of Dull" (2:54) more Paul Simon vocals though never as biting or politically- oriented as Paul was known for. The subtle presence of other instruments in occasional support and/or embellishment is handled quite masterfully. There's quite a little folk/country-western/even British folk-rock feel to this music. (8.75/10)

8. "Hotel Daedalus" (7:46) Wow! I was not expecting this! James Bond theme song bombast with some wonderful Duane Allman-like guitar playing. The beautifully harmonized vocals from the opening notes are powerful, sensitive, and gorgeously melodic but the Duane Allman/(Reine Fiske) lead guitar work is the real showstopper here (though I also love the rhythm guitar work, drums, and chunky distorted BASS). The stripped down, conga-supported instrumental passage in the fourth minute is simply to DIE FOR--especially as the big thick bass and wall of orchestral strings join in. I am in tears! it's so beautiful, so emotional! This is definitely the high point of my 2023 listening (so far). And that's not even mentioning the lead guitar work! Coming out of the beautifully bombastic instrumental theme with some BREAD-like strumming guitar and groove-walking bass playing, Bent finishes it off with his beautiful vocal. Definitely a top three song for me. Maybe the best song of 2023. (It's definitely in the running!) (15/15)

9. "Scaredcrow" (1:50) an excellent comedown from the emotional output of the previous song. (Thank you!) This just shows what masters of putting together an album of music these gentlemen are. (4.5/5)

10. "The Rapture" (5:28) Another acoustic guitar strumming song over which Bent uses his Paul Simon voice and lyrics delivery approach. Bass, more stings, piano, strings, congas, even Mellotron each join in, seemingly one at a time, one line at a time, before we get to the powerful ARCADE FIRE/THE DECEMBERISTS-like chorus delivery. Cool song. The lead guitar(s) interplay with the full orchestra strings is really cool--like a classic Jimmy Webb song ("Wichita Lineman," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"). Great ending to a great album. (8.875/10)

Total Time 42:08

With so many vocal styles and sounds on display throughout this album (yes, even the voice timbres seem to change from song to song) I can't help but marvel at A) Bent's talents and B) the engineering talents employed for this album's production.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive folk rock music--something that conjures so many great sounds, songs, and bands from the 1960s and 1970s yet, as usual, has the distinctive freshness that Motorpsycho always lends to its compositions. Definitely a masterfully constructed and produced album. And check out Bent's chameleonic vocal abilities! If you do anything today, listen to "Hotel Daedelus" on Bandcamp!