LIVE AT PIANOS, NYC

If you like NECROMONKEY you really need to check out this live release from Pianos in NYC. We get 55 minutes of powerful music contrasted with the atmospheric calms to great affect throughout this recording. Six tracks with two from the debut and the title track to close it from their second album, then three previously unreleased songs. One of those called "Kinky Panda" will end up on that EP released in 2016 but a longer version of it.

Listening to this all week I knew of course that ANGLAGARD's Mattias Olsson was the drummer and driving force behind this band but had forgot who else was on it. I kept thinking all week about how much this music reminded me of GOSTA BERLINGS SAGA's music and then today I'm looking up the lineup(no info about it in the packaging at all) and there it was David Lundberg on keyboards and Einar Baldursson on guitar two members of GOSTA BERLINGS SAGA. So that's a good reference to the sound here and I was surprised to actually hear a KING CRIMSON inspired sound on that "Kinky Panda" tune in the vein of the "Red" era, quite powerful over the 5 minutes with a calm in the middle.

That opener though "Being Pluto" is my favourite at 12 1/2 minutes it's the longest as well. Just a pleasure with the powerful sections being replaced with mellow bits throughout. Such a heavy groove at times and that memorable melody that comes and goes is the key. Love this one and I swear I've heard it before but it's also previously unreleased. "The Storm" is the other previously unreleased tune and it a relaxed, drifting song with keys and spacey sounds. I like the opener a lot more than the closer but they are similar being over 12 minutes each with contrasts of sounds throughout.

The two from the debut along with that opener round out my top three. That includes "Every Dead Indian" which is such a treat for the ears, there's so much going on here and it's catchy. Attention to detail for sure and some contrasts. "Knock Knock Hornet's Nest" is experimental to start but man when we get that main melody around 1 1/2 minutes I'm smiling. Again powerful with some calms. And yes I've knocked a hornet's nest and paid for it. I highly recommend this one and the only really annoying thing is the chatter in the background every time the band slows down the music. It would be worse to be standing near these people I suppose during the concert but other than that this is all gravy.