ON DETOUR TO SHORTCUT

1. "Spaceloop" (4:43) Feels old ? like a Yes instrumental passage. Feels rudimentary ? like a warm up "getting to know you" jam. (8.75/10)

2. "Bomb alert "(8:19) tight KING CRIMSON-esque musicianship, with ample twists and turns, as well as ADRIAN BELEW-like crazy vocal antics--then cross it with a band like MR. BUNGLE, THIS HEAT, or THE RESIDENTS and you might get a taste for what I mean. I like it. Definitely a top three song. (18/20)

3. "This is my wife" (5:37) opens with some epic jamming over some awesomely solid/tight rhythm section play. In the second minute everything suddenly goes quiet with only the bass and some rim shots continuing the flow. Synths and electric guitar take turns showing some solo stuff. Two minutes of this before drums and keys start to come back--this mellowness is really surprising! In the fifth minute the rhythm section finally kicks back into full gear; the rest of the band weaves a nice fabric in and around the drums and bass. Interesting! My third favorite song. (8.875/10)

4. "Pollock" (7:14) opens with another bass line and quiet drum work before organ and then Mellotron support searing electric guitar solo. Bridge at 1:30 leads into a slightly different bass line and drum track while wah-guitar and synth take turns ripping out some blistering runs At 3:25 we return to simple bass line and rapid rim shots while Rainer's semi-spoken voice shouts out (in English) his observational and critical phrases of Jackson Pollock's work. The music kicks back in during the sixth minute while Rainer and Tim shout out "Jack ... the Ripper" in chorus for about 30 seconds. The ensuing music and guitar solo remind me of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and Buck Dharma! Very entertaining if not totally innovative. (13.25/15)

5. "Bound by Instructions" (5:48) delicate weave between picked electric guitar, bass, and drummer's rim shots back spoken growly voice. After the speaker has finished his first go-round, the band bursts into a "Thela Hun Ginjeet"-like frenzy of cacophonous playing (though some of it reminds me of old blues rockers artists like ALVIN LEE, BLIND FAITH, and even the JEFF BECK GROUP). A tension-filled lull begins at the three-minute mark as bass, guitar, and drums hold a kind of SONAR math rock weave beneath the bluesy guitar lead. At the end of the fourth minute the band kicks back into action, hitting KINGSTON WALL mode for Rainer to sing/chant in a Petri Walli kind of way. Thesong closes with Rainer and Tim chorus-shouting their vocal epithets over the crescendoing music. (8.75/10)

6. "Pulp Stalking" (8:48) more heavy bluesy-rock over which Rainer expounds on his social criticisms. The title is shouted chorus-style as the chorus. A lot of the thematic switches in this song make little sense/have little flow; instead it's like moving with the attention-span of a dog--governed by one's sense of smell. In the fourth minute the band settles into more smooth-flowing KINGSTON WALL music for an instrumental passage. Electric guitar and then portamento synth each take +/- 60-second solos before the music decays to a "underwater" bass solo at the six-minute mark--also of a very nearly-90-second solo. Not my favorite song. (17.25/20)

7. "On Detour to Shortcut" (9:06) straight-drivin' avant/RIO that turns funky in the second minute. Nice guitar soloing in the third minute before the music downshifts into polyrhythmic math rock territory. I like the overall inertia and drive of this one: despite numerous twists and turns, it remains forward moving throughout--which takes a lot of maturity and foresight in the composition department. The sixth minute reminds me half of LED ZEPPELIN and half of KING CRIMSON (never thought I'd hear/feel those two in bed with one another!) Virgil Donati's ON THE VIRG project from the late 1990s also comes to mind frequently as I listen to this one. Interesting Hammond sound and play in the eighth minute before the music goes limp as if the component parts are trying to figure out how to bring this one to a close. Overall, a cool jazz-rock infused piece that claims the spot as my favorite song on the album. (18.25/20)

8. "Reboot" (2:58) sounds like the intro/interlude part of a DIF JUZ song. Like to hear that trumpet! (4.5/5)

Total Time 52:33

Man! I wish I'd have thought of asking my dad (who was, in his youth, a jazz drummer) to jam with my brothers and I! How cool!

B+/four stars; an excellent addition of angular blues-jazz-rock in the avant/RIO vein that most prog lover's would find interesting if not enjoyable.

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