WATER, IT FEELS LIKE IT'S GROWING

This album has been my most pleasant musical surprise of 2023 for certain and perhaps for several years. I was simply working through a list of new prog releases, specifically hitting my favorite genres. Atsuko Chiba is labeled as post-rock / math rock. Although those influences are present in the music, the band covers a very broad sonic territory that I think would best be described as modern psychedelic prog. And while other neo-psychedelic acts like King Gizzard and Tame Impala also paint with a very large palette, I find the work of those bands sometimes a bit disjointed. Not so here. There are certainly surprises - great surprises, but it all coheres into a fresh sound that maintained my interest for every moment of the short album.

My best description of the sound would be to cross post-rock with early Mars Volta (who the band cites as an influence). There are dreamy couch lock tunes (Seeds, Sunbath) and mildly chaotic, full of attitude tracks (So Much For, Link). Even during the atmospheric passages, the band brings in new, unexpected elements that continually keep the listener guessing. There are odd time signatures, plenty of different keyboard sounds, and guitar delay used in a myriad of ways. Vocals sometimes serves as an ethereal layer and other times almost rant as a lead element. Similarly, the range of emotions that this music evokes is large - including a truly frightening climax on the final title song.

At 36 minutes, the album does something no album has done for me in ages - left me wanting more. This is my #1 album of 2023 so far and will be difficult to knock from the perch.

I would recommend this album to a wide variety of audiences but for anyone who enjoy psych-prog, I rank this as the best in years.

1. "Sunbath" (6:31) sounds like heavy, plodding psychedelia to me! Then, surprise! Strings take over in the third minute's "psychotic break" /interlude. Instrumental break out at 3:00 with full Mellotron support and multiple guitars strumming away with their thick, heavy, psychedelic power chords; sounds a bit like one of their big influences, THE MARS VOLTA. Great vocal shift at 5:20! Good start! (8.875/10)

2. "So Much For" (6:36)sounds very much like something from one of 2022's KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD songs--even down to the cheery hip-drug culture lyrics--but then the chorus is almost closer to the BEASTIE BOYS! But the jamming session that it turns into for the second half (with horns) returns to a KG&LW sound and style. Nice song, I just wish it were a little more organized and flowing. (8.667/10)

3. "Shook" (I'm Often) (4:44) quite dull and monotonous. Not even sure how to describe this music except insidious and repetitive. (8.33/10)

4. "Seeds" (7:45) I LOVE the droning infinity guitar throughout. And the Kevin Richard Parker (TAME IMPALA) voice and effect for singer David Palumbo. Also, the sound palette reminds me of Boston's GHOSTS OF JUPITER. By far the best and my favorite song on the album. (14.25/15)

5. "Link" (2:40) sounds like a cover of a CLASH song! Or else one of MOTORPSYCHO's. (8.5/10)

6. "Water, It Feels Like It's Growing" (7:45) interesting stylistic synthesis turns out to be most similar to heroin-filtered THE MARS VOLTA music. I do like the band's experimentalism with strings, horns, and layers of synths and effects. (13.25/15)

Total Time 36:01

B+/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you like modern stoner rock.