JURASSIC SHIFT

Although I would not yet consider myself to be an expert of all things Ozric- having only heard a handful of their albums at this point- but they are quickly becoming one of my most liked bands in the psychedelic and space rock styles. Having a good thirty or so albums under their belts since coming out of the woodwork in the eighties, Ozric Tentacles has become a very well regarded band, while maintaining their stance as an underground act. 'Jurassic Shift' is one of the more acclaimed records by this band, recommended to me as an ideal place to start my journey with these guys. If the band's 1993 effort is any indicator of their career, than after many listens to this gem, I would reckon I have many great days of superb listening ahead. Fusing numerous different sounds together into one signature blend of 'space fusion', Ozric Tentacles creates a massively fun and exciting listen with this one.

When it comes to the sound of the Ozrics, I must say that they do have a very recognizable sound, despite being part of a style that generally recycles the ideas of the first psychedelic wave. Ozric Tentacles make instrumental music that is deep, ambient, trippy, and- above all- fun to listen to. Each of the compositions on 'Jurassic Shift' is quick to make me smile, there is almost a happy-go-lucky attitude to alot of the music that this band makes that would make a perfect soundtrack to the perfect acid trip. Despite being fun and generally upbeat though, the compositions are fairly dense in their sound. Although the songwriting tends to get somewhat drawn out- keeping in touch with their genre roots- the songs build and ebb with a good feeling of intention to them, and the musicianship of each member is peaked for this sort of music. Ed Wynne's guitar solos could sometimes do with a little more moderation, but never lets go of the atmosphere. The bass grooves here are incredibly catchy and memorable, especially in the upbeat rocker 'Stretchy'. Possibly most engaging here though are the keyboards and electronics, which- did I mention- have enough spaced-out energy to them to make Timothy Leary consider settling down for a job as an insurance salesman?

A surprising aspect of the band's sound is the fact they they use alot of ethnic instrumentation in their sound; something I was not quite expecting from a band like this. With 'Feng Shui' or 'Half Light In Thillai' both take the listener to ambient soundscapes of other cultures, which does well to both soothe and excite. The fusion of world music into the Ozrics' formula of space rock is really great, and adds a new level of depth of the music that I really was not expecting. The last two songs on the album are not quite as memorable as I would have liked them to be, but the album is fairly consistent, constantly throwing new interesting things at the listener for the very most part.

I can only hope that the rest of this band's discography is so good; with Ozric Tentacles' 'Jurassic Shift', they have found themselves a new fan in me. I am not usually into this sort of music, but with Ozric, there is a real intelligence to back up the trippy vibes and spacial harmonies. This is a really excellent album.

Share this OZRIC TENTACLES review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Conor Fynes
• Report this review (#481418)
• Buy OZRIC TENTACLES music online with PA partners
• Show all OZRIC TENTACLES MP3/Stream
• Go to OZRIC TENTACLES page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Jurassic Shift page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for OZRIC TENTACLES related discussions