Ghost – Opus Eponymous

Is the interest in occult heavy rock rooted in 70’s hard/stoner rock a new hype these days? – This was one of the status messages from my Facebook profile a few days ago, after I realized there are so many bands who tend to play in this musical style. As the term “hype” floats too much in the underground circles when it comes to this band (not from a music aspect, as you might expect), I’m thrilled to write something up about an album which has received such polarized reviews.

Covered with a veil of mystery and dressed like evil priests, Ghost seems to be pretty serious (or at least pretend to be serious) about their Satanic imagery. Let me tell a story about this dark hipsterism: The band, whose line up is held in a strict secrecy, has started to receive much more attention after Fenriz, a member of a cult Norwegian black metal act Darkthrone named them as “the band of the week” on his personal blog in April 2010. Soon after that, the band appeared with the album I’m planing to discuss here, released on Lee Dorian’s Rise Above Records in October 2010 and finally, with popularity that has struck like a Japanese tsunami (Ouch, too soon –Ed), the band has been confirmed as one of the acts which will participate in the upcoming Roadburn festival.

Enough with the history, I’ll get on with describing what Ghost has to offer with Opus Eponymous. As I mentioned, their roots are planted in occult hard/stoner rock with elements of psychedelia and doom. Don’t get confused if you find out on their record label’s website that this album is put under the black metal mark, you will not hear anything of that genre in their music, but we could say that lyrically this album deals with occultism and Satanism, though any other connections end there.

Opus Eponymous is something that comes up if you combine Mercyful Fate, the ubiquitous Black Sabbath, Angel Witch, Witchcraft and The Devil’s Blood. A lot of witches, one may say. The album opens with an intro called Deus Culpa, that sounds as a sort of a lamentation which leads into Con Clavi Con Dio, a hard rock piece driven by stony riffs and strong organs. And just when you think there will appear strong and harsh vocals, the one of the six unidentified band members who carries the vocal duties appears with a kind of mellow voice, more characteristic of pop rock stuff. In my opinion the band has already failed from this angle. Other than that, the crew shows off good instrumentation, which also gains upon 70’s progressive rock domain.

The track Ritual comes out with a dose of poppiness from the very beginning, but it takes not so long until the track gets a bit heavier, coming closer to Merciful Fate-like heavy metal, but still keeping away from the real of true heaviness. Elizabeth is a track with kind of a twisted melodiousness, with simple drumwork, but a nice guitar solo. Merciful Fate again with a rather poppy approach with a lyrical theme about, you guessed right, Elizabeth Bathory!

The band stubbornly walks the line of hard rock, thus the next two tracks Stand By Him and Satan Prayer are very similar to the tracks at the beginning of the record. Things seem different with Death Knell, in these hellboys imply different approach here, with a bit of a proggier sound and with the addition of vocal harmonies.

Primer Mover cries out for a bit of agressiveness, but the singer’s tiny voice just leaves you hanging. The guitar is excellent, but the vocals just don’t fit it. It’s very disappointing. The album closes with Genesis, which sounds as a filler track to this almost 35 minutes long album.

It’s obvious that these guys have the potential and skills to make something good out of this band, all they need to do is be serious about it. There are plenty of other bands that dwell craft occult hard’n'heavy pseudometal, but even if the only country you look at is Sweden, there are plenty of bands who do it much better, such as Graveyard and Witchcraft (to name just a few).

Tracklist:

1. Deus Culpa
2. Con Clavi Con Dio
3. Ritual
4. Elizabeth
5. Stand By Him
6. Satan Prayer
7. Death Knell
8. Prime Mover
9. Genesis

Van Der Graaf Generator – A Grounding in Numbers

In 2005 after an absence of 27 years, one of only a handful of the old school “progressive” rock bands worthy of the over used description, the mighty Van Der Graaf Generator, unexpectedly reformed with the classic line up and blessed the world with “Present” a double cd of superb noise. Whereas most of their contemporaries that were still performing were content to gift a shadow of former glories on new works while peddling greatest hits tours to their ageing audiences, VDGG still had that manic and unpredictable edge, albeit mellowed by time, that made them such a great band all those years ago.

Derailed somewhat by the departure of sax impressionist David Jackson (aka Jaxon) after the Present tour the band bravely decided to continue as a trio, and 2008 saw the release of the somewhat underwhelming Trisector, which sounded more like a Peter Hammill solo album than a group work, and has not been played much chez moi since its release. I will have to dig it out before I see them live soon, as some of its songs will doubtless be played at the gig.

Which brings us to now, and the release of A Grounding In Numbers, a title reflected in the concerns of the album, the passing of time, how life links to mathematical theory, but perhaps also a sly reference to their former sax honker, who, after the “classic” VDGG split the first time round became a Maths teacher – who knows?

The sound is much fuller than Trisector, which suffered by having several large Jaxon shaped aural holes, and for a bunch of guys in their 60s still retains some of the old edginess of old, and Hugh Padgham’s production is unfussy and clear. Do not expect manic Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers like sections though, as, like everyone else, they have mellowed with age. The structure of the album is different from previous albums too. The longest song is only 6′01″, and their are 13 songs in all, spread over 50 or so minutes. VDGG make a pop album?

The album opens with Your Time Starts Now, a slow ballad ruminating on the way time passes at an ever increasing rate as we get older, and their ain’t long left baby, so if you’re gonna do it, do it now. Time is a  recurrent Hammill theme throughout his solo career in particular, and is not unsurprisingly reprised these days given his age and his health scares of a few years back, from which he has now thankfully fully recovered.

Next up is the wilfully obscure Mathematics, a gentle hymn to the beauty of the equation it would seem. Only Hammill could get away with a chorus that includes the line “e to the power of i times pi plus one is zero, e to the power of i times pi is minus one” like it was something Jedward might have come up with. It comes from something called “Euler’s Identity”, voted Best Equation Ever by readers of Marvel Comics in 1975, or…..possibly not!

Highly Strung is an autobiographical declamation, sonically a cousin of All That Before, making PH sound a million miles away from the gentle soul he comes across as in interviews. The closest thing to a pop song on the album, the verse lurches along like a man in danger of losing all motor control at any second. Marvellous! Red Baron, the first of two instrumentals on the album, allows one to turn off the lyric decipher control for a couple of minutes, before we’re into Bunsho where the protagonist is too close to his art to be able to get a handle on it. As PH puts it “I can’t see my stream.” If you’ve ever written or created anything, even something as insignificant as this review, you’ll know where this coming from. Is its content ”sublime” or just “workaday”? Musically I could imagine Peter Gabriel coming up with this number.

Following this is for me the best song on the album, Snake Oil, which has all the ingredients of a VDGG epic crammed into its 5′20″, Ensemble rhythmic mastery to the fore, changing time signature on a whim and still making sense. Hugh Banton starts it off with a nostalgic Hammond (or a modern synthesis of that sound) led groove of the old school into a heavy slow stomping middle section, lyrically decrying the need to endlessly repeat a formula to appease the herd, the song seems to end about half way through, leaving the listener hung out to dry. A weird instrumental called Splink follows, some slide guitar with a atonal cyclical harpsicord (?) rising and then fading. Quite eerie.

The possibly also autobiographical Embarrassing Kid is a bit of mess to be frank and on first few listens seems a bit all over the shop. Guitar led it stumbles along in a semi coherent fashion, and being lyrically somewhat trite it’s not the most compelling thing on the album. Medusa sets things back on track with a song much in the Hammill mode of menace. Mr Sands, theatrical code for announcing a fire alarm or similar without panicking the audience, as in PH’s ”Well Mr Sands is in the house, commotion in the stalls” is another highlight. With an intricate time signature, Banton sounds almost Emerson like, but in a far less bombastic fashion, if you can imagine that! Another proto-epic in the making.

Smoke is a cautionary tale about one’s historical trail left on the internet, to an almost funky groove. You could dance to it if so inclined. This leads seamlessly into 5533 to keep in with the mathematical theme. I’ve absolutely no idea what this is about, perhaps someone can enlighten me? The album ends with All Over The Place, a tale of lost identity and disillusion. Musically fairly quiet and reflective, slowly building on the rising keyboards of  Hammill and Banton, it provides a sombre end to an album that for VDGG is a somewhat low key effort.

One notices that, like the last two albums, PH’s lyrics on some of these songs are far less intricate, and dare I say it, obscure than those on solo albums over the same period and on VDGG albums pre-reformation. Perhaps he is deliberately attempting to make VDGG more accessible than in the past, although having said that, songs like Mathematics & 5533 are as left field as he ever was. Musically this is as the most restrained I’ve heard the band. Perhaps they are at last comfortable in their own skin rather than itching to get out as in the past?

Don’t buy this if you’re expecting another Pawn Hearts or Godbluff or Still Life. If you look on the 21st century VDGG as a separate entity then you’ll not be over-egging the expectation pudding. Better than Trisector, I’m hoping this will continue to grow on me.

VDGG have a problem, not that they probably see it this way. Fans of the two mainstream mega successful bands who could be said to have reignited the prog rock flame over recent years, Radiohead and Muse, are not going to be buying this in droves. Curious youngsters who delve into their dad’s and (gulp) grandad’s record collections and are intrigued by VDGG may be tempted, but those few aside the market for the new VDGG largely remains with their old fans. Perhaps they are shining examples of that hoary old muso cliché…”We make the the music we like, if anyone else likes it then that is a bonus.” Not that I’m complaining, having missed them first time round, tomorrow I’ll see them live for third time since the reformation, and long may it continue!

Tracklist:

1. Your Time Starts Now
2. Mathematics
3. Highly Strung
4. Red Baron
5. Bunsho
6. Snake Oil
7. Splink
8. Embarassing Kid
9. Medusa
10. Mr. Sands
11. Smoke
12. 5533
13. All Over the Place

Line-up:

* Peter Hammill – guitar, keyboards and vocals
* Hugh Banton – organ, bass pedals and bass guitar
* Guy Evans – drums

Links:

http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/

BunChakeze – Whose Dream?

The rather weirdly-named BunChakeze (a ‘creative’ spelling of the more mundane ‘bunch of keys’) were one of the many bands born in the mid-Eighties who – in spite of  the much-touted Neo-Prog breakthrough of those years – found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Formed in 1984 by guitarist Colin Tench, drummer Cliff Deighton and bassist Gary Derrick after the demise of the six-piece Odin of London, like the former they were among the many casualties of the lack of interest in music that did not comply with the stereotypes of that era. All too aware of the indifference of record labels and promoters, BunChakeze voluntarily dropped off the radar and went their separate ways after having recorded an album’s worth of material.  Fast forward about 25 years, to 2010,  when  – thanks to progressive rock’s surprising Renaissance – BunChakeze emerged from oblivion. Taking full advantage of the possibilities of the Internet, they finally released their album, and set about to actively promoting it all over the community of progressive rock fans.

To be perfectly honest, when I got my copy of Whose Dream?, after having read a slew of enthusiastic reviews, I was curious to see if it really was the best thing since the proverbial sliced bread, or rather one of the many rather undistinguished releases that seem to be a dime a dozen on the current prog scene. Indeed, not everyone would view BunChakeze’s obvious enthusiasm about their release in a completely positive light, and some would even think, “do we really need yet another album by a long-dead band?”. On the other hand, though occasionally showing its age, Whose Dream? is a pleasant listen, easy to approach in just one listening session (unlike so many modern releases), and featuring some noteworthy guitar work courtesy of Colin Tench. True, it is not the most progressive album on the market, and its catchy nature may prove a turn-off for the more elitist fringe. Moreover, the sound quality is anything but flattering to the material: neither the tinny drum sound nor the dated, whistling synthesizers do the album any favours, and Joey Lugassy’s voice sounds positively strained at times. However, it is definitely no worse than many current releases frequently hailed as near-masterpieces beyond their true merits.

A strongly song-oriented album, with no tracks longer than 7 minutes, Whose Dream? shows a distinct lack of sprawling epics –a refreshing change of pace from the often overambitious efforts that seem to be the rule these days. Some of the compositions, in spite of their relative shortness, do have an epic scope of sorts: “Flight of the Phoenix” and “Midnight Skies” (dedicated to the plight of Native Americans) both offer enough tempo changes (though never in an overly complex fashion) and instrumental interest to qualify as mini-epics, The general mood of the album tends to be somewhat melancholy, both musically and lyrically – perhaps reflecting the frustration the band members were experiencing at the time the music was composed.

As the band members themselves are ready to admit, the biggest influence on BunChakeze’s sound are Pink Floyd, in their more subdued, hauntingly melodic incarnation rather than the experimental one.  The intro to “The Deal” is a dead ringer for “Welcome to the Machine”, and Colin Tench’s clear, smoothly flowing lead guitar pays more than cursory homage to David Gilmour’s hugely influential style. Hints of Kansas (without the grandiosity) surface in “Long Distance Runner”, while “Walk in Paradise” shows touches of Deep Purple-style hard rock (even in Lugassy’s vocal approach) in its first half, suddenly changing into a more melodic pace reminiscent of Genesis and Camel.  Two sprightly instrumentals  bookend the album,  putting Tench’s Spanish-flavoured guitar on display; while the above-mentioned “The Deal” is by far the darkest offering on the album, with its haunting bass line, echoing guitar chords, and almost lush keyboard sounds.

At the time of writing, though the various band members have long since been engaged in other things (not necessarily music-related), it seems that BunChakeze are definitely getting back together, possibly with a view to playing some live shows. Though Whose Dream? is certainly no masterpiece, BunChakeze are a group of talented musicians who deserve respect for their resilience and dedication to their craft.  A special mention should go to the very nice CD booklet, with thorough yet funny liner notes, lyrics (which are quite interesting, though occasionally a bit on the naïve side), and vintage photos of the band. Fans of neo-prog and melodic prog in general could do much worse than get hold of Whose Dream?, and help the newly reformed  band to fulfil their dream of finally performing on a stage.

Tracklist:

1. BunChakeze (1:57)
2. Whose Dream? (4:05)
3. Walk in Paradise (6:57)
4. Handful of Rice (5:10)
5. Flight of the Phoenix (6:20)
6. Midnight Skies (6:25)
7. Long Distance Runner (6:09)
8. The Deal (7:50)
9. Whose Dream? (reprise) (2:24)

Line-up:

* Colin Tench – guitars, synthesizers, backing vocals
* Gary Derrick – bass, bass pedals
* Cliff Deighton – drums
* Joey Lugassy – vocals

With:
* Alex Foulcer – piano

Links:

http://www.bunchakeze.com

ProgSphere’s Progstravaganza Compilation of Awesomeness – Part 4

FUSIONTASTIC EDITION!? What is this madness. Nick gave the compilation reigns over to me this time (Dan), and I decided that, after the tremendous success of the last compilation, we would do even more bands. To think, I actually argued with him over it, saying MORE music would be daunting for people to try. We have TWENTY bands this time, with only one repeat in the form of Eyot, who was on our second compilation. Well, I take that back – we have a second repeat. There’s a bonus track HOW CAN YOU HAVE A BONUS TRACK ON THE STANDARD VERSION OF A FREE COMPILATION!? You ask politely with your capslock key activated. Well, I answer: First of all: stop yelling. Second: I dunno man, but why are you complaining about more free music? Klotet (from our first compilation) provided the bonus track, this time from their second album (the previous track was on the first). I wanted to give Klotet special status here because Pahl, the band’s guitarist, has been so totally awesome by doing all the covers of the compilations completely for free. We can’t thank him enough, but I guess this is some small way to do it.

As I said before, the music on this compilation is “fusion”. What the hell is that, you ask? Well it was originally intended to be jazz fusion, which I am a huge fan of (and currently writing a huge series of articles about, the first one of which is up). Then I decided “well, why not expand the label a bit?” So this compilation is more “prog fusion” than jazz fusion. We’ve got ethnic Indonesian jazz from simakDialog and Tohpati Ethnomission, calmer, almost ambient jazz from the Serbian Eyot, more intense, metallic jazz fusion from Karcius, Accordo Dei Contrari, Syrinx, and Lalle Larsson (from Quebec, Italy, France, and Sweden respectively). We’ve got some more experimental stuff from Moraine and The Wrong Object, some Canterbury-inspired fusion from Planeta Imaginario of Catalonia, and even some relatively funky, slightly “traditional” 70’s-style fusion from Feedback of Slovenia. This is our largest, and as a consequence, most diverse compilation yet.

This is the first of a series of theme compilations, but I had a specific purpose in mind for it. Prog rock is incredibly diverse, and as a twin to prog rock, jazz fusion is diverse as well. To display that diversity I wanted to included a lot of fusion bands that are not necessarily called “jazz”, to display the state of jazz in the 21^st century. We have a huge selection of bands from around the world, all playing in radically different styles, yet I would call them all jazz for different reasons. You may decide for yourself what they are, and I’m sure some of the bands might disagree. That said, I’ll shut up so you can download the way too many hours of music we stuck onto this thing.

Tracklist:

01. simakDialog – Tak Juah Pertama (Indonesia)

02. Brian Ellis – Gossamer (United States)

03. Moraine – Nacho Sunset (United States)

04. Syrinx – Acheiropoietes (France)

05. Slivovitz – Dammi Un Besh O (Italy)

06. Eyot – Stone Upon Stone Upon Stone (Serbia)

07. Quartet Muartet – Geometri (Turkey)

08. The Wrong Object – Lifting Belly (Belgium)

09. Accordo Dei Contrari – Kinesis (Italy)

10. Tohpati Ethnomission – Save the Planet (Indonesia)

11. Fractale – Partie XV (France)

12. D.F.A. – Baltasaurus (Italy)

13. Mahogany Frog – Lady Xoc & Shield Jaguar (Canada)

14. Mediabanda – El Largo Camino Hacia La Superacion De La Estupidez (Chile)

15. Forgas Band Phenomena – L’ Axe du Fou (excerpt) (France)

16. Planeta Imaginario – Accio Col-Lectiva (excerpt) (Spain)

17. Phlox – Siil (Estonia)

18. Lalle Larson – Beyond Shadows (Sweden)

19. Karcius – Purple King (Canada)

20. Feedback – Reci klaza! Klaza (Slovenia)

21. Klotet – Ekot Från Avgrunden (bonus track) (Sweden)

DOWNLOAD PROGSPHERE’S PROGSTRAVAGANZA COMPILATION OF AWESOMENESS – PART 4

Tangle Edge – Dropouts

Wow. It is almost hard to believe it but this release is finally out as either a double CD slip pack or triple vinyl record. I visited the band back in 1998 in Narvik and my friend Carl and I heard some of this material which comes from the bands very first cassette release from 1983 called Improvised Dropouts. Delerium records was suppose to release this as a double CD and it had a totally different title as well, which I don’t recall anymore. So that is 13 years ago and it is finally out now. I will not go through each and every improvisation here (there are 23). These were all recorded in late 1982 and early 1983 in the bands studio in . One track was recorded live in in Nov 1983.

Anyway, as you might know, this amazing three piece have a musical language of their own and converse in a very special way and listening to these recordings makes you feel like you are sitting in their studio with them having a personal peak into the creative spirit that makes this band so unique. The band has stayed active for the past 30 years and continue to this day making exciting music that pushes the boundaries of rock, jazz, world music, when three people (bass, guitar, drums) come together to pool their collective spirits and push and pull, create special dynamics, and make interesting music. A band like Tangle Edge has for sure been an influence on my own band, Øresund Space Collective, in we take the same spirit but just more and different instruments and challenge each other.

You will find elements of 70s jazz rock, blues rock and experimental music in these different tracks. All the members are superb players. Highly recommended. Check out the bands web site for information on how to obtain the limited edition triple vinyl or double CD slippack version of this or the bands other music. Be adventurous and support an amazing band.

Lüger – Lüger

Fresh psychedelic krautrock from Spain!
It is not so common to listen to a Spanish band with some kraut influences, but Lüger does it and so well. Once again I took advantage of the internet facility and downloaded for free their self-titled debut album from their website (it is also available via last.fm) and since the first listen I felt impressed and enjoyed what I heard.

This young band released their first album in this 2010, so we can expect more from them in the near future, at least I do. The eponymous features seven compositions and a total time of 37 minutes. It kicks off with “Spotted Introspective Female Firecracker” whose electronic sound reminds me to some seventies acts such as Tangerine Dream or Heldon. This song is a bit slow and may take a couple of minutes to get used to it, and you better wait, because the next ones are better.

“Swastika Sweetheart” will make you move your head and open the gates to the psychedelic realm. Though the music could be repetitive, you will not feel bored, on the other hand that repetitiveness will cause an addiction and you will enjoy the whole song. Here there are vocals in English, and to be honest it reminds me a bit of Kula Shaker.

“Die Sonne Muss Untergehen!” shows that strong German influence they have, if you had a doubt about their label as a kraut-rock band, then you here will understand why. This is another interesting instrumental track whose first two minutes are again repetitive but addictive, in a mid-tempo time it starts to grow just before minute three. I love the guitars and keyboard sound, they put several elements during the whole song which make it better. The last minute is stronger, and the addition of drums makes it powerful.

“Bedlam in a Sugar Plum Fairy Reception” is the shortest track with less than three minutes. It gives the sensation of joy, I imagine people cheering in the street. Nice short song, of course, not the best. “Why Should I Care?” reminds me to the second track, that evident psychedelic feeling has been placed here once again, the keyboards and raw guitars are excellent, bass and drums also play their role, and vocals are pretty nice, I really enjoy it.

“Portrait of a Distant Look” is another excellent track that follows that psych/kraut path that Lüger’s music suggests. The keyboard sound all over the song is amazing, but it is worth mentioning the addictive bass sound that never disappears and maintains the music in the same line. The vocals are good again, and after a short stop, just before minute three the song becomes even better. It is probably my favorite from this album. Excellent!

Finally, “La Fin Absolue Du Monde” , i know, after singing in English and having a previous song with a German title, now the finish with one french titled song, I don’t really know why that three language mix, but it is not really important when the music is great. This is a faster song with a peculiar sound, the guitars are well played and placed, drums and keyboards always making a good job. This is another psychedelic addictive song, though I have to admit that in moments the album sounds way too repetitive, it does not fail.

I am very pleased with this debut album, and now I am looking forward to their second effort. People you can go to Lüger website and download it for free, if you like psychedelic music, then you must do it, I highly recommend it.

Enjoy it!

Tracklist:
1. Spotted Introspective Female Firecracker (6:38)
2. Swastika Sweetheart (7:04)
3. Die Sonne Muss Untergehen! (5:40)
4. Bedlam In A Sugar Plum Fairy Reception (2:30)
5. Why Should I Care? (5:15)
6. Portrait Of A Distant Look (4:49)
7. La Fin Absolue Du Monde (4:50)

Total Time: 36:46

Line-up:
* Diego – guitar, main vocals
* Dani – bass, vocals
* Mario – organ, synth, vocals
* Rulo – drums, samplers, effects, vocals
* Lopin – floor tom, metal sheets, percussion

Links:

http://luger.bandcamp.com/

The Residents – Meet The Residents

…And what an interesting encounter it has been.

Imagine coming down off of an acid trip in some dusty club in Casablanca. Sam waddles away at the piano, the backing band chimes in with a nightmarish odium, and some drunkards are singing songs of better times in a foreign language you cannot understand. Such is the impression I get with the debut album of the enigmatic art collective known as The Residents. A group of mysterious innovators that have made a name for themselves turning Western musical tradition on its side, the first album by ‘North Louisiana’s Phenomenal Pop Combo’ certainly isn’t an album that agrees with most musical preconceptions I or the majority of others will have when first looking into their work. A lo-fi mess of sounds, half baked musical ideas and a fair amount of uncertainty on part of the listener, ‘Meet The Residents’ leaves a lasting impression, and while still a very hit-or-miss ordeal of the group, there’s no denying that the music’s quirk and charm outweighs the moments that make me want to cringe.

From the album cover alone (a twisted revision of a Beatles’ LP), one can tell right off the bat that The Residents are not ones to take themselves particularly seriously, although parts of the album get dark very quickly. The general sound here is one of concrete experimentation. One part a commentary on pop music, the other a nightmarish big band orchestration, there’s quite a surprising bit done with the generally muddy and undercut production values the album has. The Residents generally crowd around the use of the piano to drive their tracks along, at times bringing in other instruments- be they guitars, or jazzier equipment. All of this may be somewhat straightforward, but it is the way in which these pieces are put together that really makes the Residents one to question.

First off, it feels like the band has some sort of aversion to developing any idea too much, as if they’re scared of the commitment it would entail. While most of the songs generally have a general theme of similar sound going for them, its commonplace on ‘Meet The Residents’ to have a musical idea (say, a piano ditty) suddenly blast into a wave of tapelooped vocal wails. The instruments also often feel out of sync with each other and viciously offtime; poor musicianship, or a yearning to experiment? I would tend to think that the band’s almost drunken style of writing and playing on the record tend to indicate a stylistic decision over any conceivable lack of talent, although of course, this really off-kilter attitude the Residents have is bound to be misconstrued by many. While generally quite dissonant and even uncomfortable for human ears at times, the band does balance it out somewhat with the big band orchestrations; which add some beauty to what is otherwise a sea of confusion.

A huge hit-or-miss album to be quite certain, but the impression the album makes is about as confusing as it would have been had I listened to it forty years ago. Only the most adventurous of music listeners need apply; you have been warned.

Tracklist:

1. Boots (0:54)
2. Numb Erone (1:07)
3. Guylum Bardot (1:19)
4. Breath and Length (1:44)
5. Consuelo’s Departure (0:59)
6. Smelly Tongues (1:44)
7. Rest Aria (5:09)
8. Skratz (1:43)
9. Spotted Pinto Bean (5:27)
10. Infant Tango (5:28)
11. Seasoned Greetings (5:13)
12. N-Er-Gee (Crisis Blues) (7:16)
*13. Fire
*14. Explosion
*15. Lightning
*16. Aircraft Damage

Line-up:

* James Aaron – bass, guitar
* James Whitaker – piano
* Wool – vocals
* The Residents – everything else

Non-Aligned Prog: The Music of Serbia (Part II)

Serbia in progressive music

It didn’t take too long until bands from Serbia started experimenting with odd rhythm structures, lengthy improvisations and time signatures. The most notable Serbian prog acts of the time were Smak, Korni Grupa, Pop Mašina, YU Grupa, Dah, Tako, Igra Staklenih Perli, Opus, and S Vremena Na Vreme. When I say progressive rock, I don’t only mean the bands who played strictly played in this genre, but those whose roots were laid in it as well. The period from 1970 to 1980 was probably the best decade for Serbian progressive acts. From the 80’s on there wasn’t too much, but there were certainly a few exceptions. Herein I will present some of these bands, starting from the beginning of the 70’s to the present. Here is a list of albums that you should check out if you decide to introduce yourself to Serbian prog.

SMAK – Crna Dama / Black Lady

This was originally released under the title Crna Dama in 1977 in Serbia, and one year later in English as Black Lady (the latter recorded and produced in London). It can be said that this album is certainly one of the best former Yugoslav records produced in the 70’s. Adorned with superb musicianship and excellent production, this album brought respect to the band from all around the world. Radomir Mihajlović Točak, the band’s guitarist, successfully lingers between symphonic rock and jazz fusion, with addition of blues, and progressive folk impact that are shown throughout the song Daire (Tambourine). Domaći zadatak (Homework, but perhaps better translated as “Housework”) is the pinnacle of the album, an instrumental that features the band showing off just how amazingly they flow together as a group. Tegoba (Suffer) is also an instrumental, this time with a nice piano introduction and excellent guitar solos. It’s a semi ballad that floats between ELP and Return to Forever. Daire (Tambourine) and Crna Dama (Black Lady) became hits due to their “catchiness”. The weakest part of this record, especially on the English version, are the vocals of Boris Aranđelović, not in the measure of his vocal capabilities, but his pronunciation. Anyway, this album is certainly a must for all of you who would love to know about the progressive scene of Yugoslavia and maybe a nice point from which to start. But also, don’t hesitate to check the band’s other releases, surely you will find something that will satisfy your hunger. Specifically look for their selftitled 1975 album Smak, their 1978 album Stranice Našeg Vremena (The Pages of Our Time), and their 1981 album Zašto ne Volim Sneg (Why I Dislike Snow).

IGRA STAKLENIH PERLI – Igra Staklenih Perli

This is the first album by a Belgrade band whose name was inspired by Hermann Hesse’s novel The Glass Bead Game. Psychedelic rock in its turns to space space and krautrock, this album comes as a treat for all who respect Hawkwind, 60’s Pink Floyd, and Can’s Tago Mago. The original first press release comes with only with 5 tracks, totalling around 27 minutes. It’s interesting to note that 2 master tracks were destroyed before the vinyl pressing. The album was reissued as a digipak in 2007, including 8 bonus tracks taken from the LPs Inner Flow and Soft Explosion Live. The highlight of this little album is the song Pečurka (The Mushroom), which starts with a Farfisa Organ intro and whispers that were taken from Can’s track Mushroom off Tago Mago. The song develops in totally spaced-out jam that explodes in a single riff and floats further to Hawkwind territory. Since it’s so short it gives you the urge to hear more. If you do decide to, check out Vrt svetlosti (The Garden of Light), also by Igra Staklenih Perli.

POP MAŠINA – Kiselina

With this record, we come to one of the forgotten, rare gems of former Yugoslav scene. Pop Mašina’s (Pop Machine) Kiselina (Acid) consists mostly of acid rock, with early prog rock and British blues-hard rock influences. But these influences do not end here. The band shows off enviable musicianship, jumping from heavy rock to acoustic passages. This album was the second rock album to be released under domestic PGP-RTB label (first one being Korni Grupa’s self-titled album), and actually the poorness of sound quality can be accredited to the label, who brought the producer and sound engineer who has never worked before with a rock’n'roll group. The studio was only booked for ten days, which by the way due to its technical weakness worsened the complete sound image of the album. The band didn’t have much time for overdubbing or tracking, almost everything was recorded live. Because of that, the album ended up being rather representative of the band’s sound. When album’s first press circulation was sold out in a relatively short time, PGP-RTG has not been interested in reprinting it, so the first issue of Kiselina is considered as one of the rarest gems of the Serbian progressive scene. In 2005, the Austrian label Atlantide RIP has reissued the album on vinyl, and in the meantime, it has been released on CD as the Serbian and Polish version. Aside from these historical facts, what does this album bring? From jazz rock jamming in the title track, over heavy metal in Svemirska priča (Tale of the Universe) in Black Sabbath style, to acid acoustic rock in Mir (The Peace) and Povratak zvezdama (Return to the Stars). If you ignore the notable weakness in the sound of this record, you will be able to capture the raw energy it brings rounded by the potential of the band members at the time. Remastered version of the album were released in 2007, called Originalna Kiselina: 35 Godina Kasnije (The Original Acid: 35 Years Later) and it’s a good indicator as to how this album should sound in 1972. You might like to check also the band’s second album called Na izvoru svetlosti (At the Source of Light), which is in my humble opinion rather average compared to Kiselina.

KORNI GRUPA – Korni Grupa

Korni Grupa (The Kornelyans) released only two full-length albums, this self-titled that appeared in 1972 and two years later Not an Ordinary Life, which was released for foreign market under the group name The Kornelyans. I have been thinking a lot about which one I should have presented here and my choice is the group’s debut, with a remark that “Not an Ordinary Life” should certainly be listened to as well. Besides Time’s first album (which will be mentioned later, in the article about the Croatian progressive scene), Korni Grupa’s debut is the first Yugoslav rock LP record issued at the beginning of the 70’s. This album is the best example of how progressive rock sounded in the early 70’s in Yugoslavia and as such it has been considered one of the first progressive rock albums to appear at the time. Kornelije Kovač (you might notice the band’s name comes from his), after this album being released showed as a creative composer and arranger, but it has to be said that the band consisted of a really good group of musicians. Throughout the band’s career, three vocalists has passed through: Dado Topić (Time), Zdravko Čolić, and Zlatko Pejaković, who appears as a lead singer on this album. Put za istok (A Road Towards the East) is an epic that builds up this record, a nice song that floats between hard rock, jazz, and even blues at moments. It even has some nice oriental motifs. Knowing that Kovač has been picky since the beginnings of his musical career, and always tended to perfection, I may say with an assurance that this record is certainly one of those “well-planned” records, as everything sounds just right in its place. Bezglave Ja-Ha horde (The Headless Ya-Ha Hordes) is crazy jazz rock monster. Tata Ko i Mama Spo is a ballad that talks about a young father, who, being divorced, can visit his daughter only on Sundays. And I will stop talking about this album here, with a big remark that you should, without a doubt, try this out.

TAKO – Tako

Tako, being tagged as a mixture of jazz rock and symphonic rock, emerged in the second half of 70’s and they released two albums, the fist one, self titled which I will describe here, released in 1978, and two years later U vreći za spavanje (In the Sleeping Bag). The self titled album is a reflection of the influences the band has gathered up and put together in their own way. The obvious touches of, at the time, leading forces in progressive rock movement such as Pink Floyd, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, Camel and Jethro Tull mean that the band has engaged in an adventure of creating something unique and different in the Serbian progressive scene. Tako is Serbian for “this way, that way”, and this says something for their goal to make music “in their own way” under the influence of the aforementioned foreign bands. The album consists of 6 songs, totaling a little more than 40 minutes of music. I have to mention here that a Brazilian label Rock Symphony has re-issued this album in CD format with the addition of a bonus track. The album is grounded under an epic Druga strana mene (Second Side of Me), which starts with a bombastic intro and after several turns and rhythm changes in the classic symphonic rock style shows off the band’s interest in spiritualism. Lena, a track that emerged in the woods near the Sava river, has become under the baroque impact of Handel and Bach. Minijatura (Miniature) is an homage to the work of Jethro Tull. Sinteza (Synthesis) brings a bits of jazz-rock with bluesy arrangements reached with accordion. Utapanje sunčeve svetlosti u peščanu memoriju (Merging of Sunlight into the Memory of Sand), besides its weird title, brings eastern influences on board with the lyrics of Lao Tzu, and by the words of Đorđe Ilijin, a keyboardist and flutist, this song is a kind of a moral mantra. The feeling that this album might give you after few listenings is the presence of uncompleteness, the album’s production is poor, but aside that all, this album deserves to be mentioned as one of the holders of 70’s Serbian progressive rock scene.

OPUS – Opus 1

Opus was actually a band of Miodrag Okrugić’s (a former YU Grupa member), Miodrag Kostić and Dušan Ćućuz (who later went to form Tako) formed in 1973. It didn’t take long after the band formation to disband, but in 1975 Okrugić reformed the group and released their only album named Opus 1. The album is inspired by the leaders of the symphonic rock genre with a strong influence of Hammond organ driven acts such as Deep Purple, Procol Harum, ELP, Atomic Rooster, etc. The same old complaint can be put here: poor production. Though the musicianship is as good as any band’s. The album has only been released on a vinyl, but you can find vinyl rips. Check around Google or wherever you look. I hope someone will hear this and decide to do a remaster for a possible CD release at some point in the future.

DAH – Povratak

Dah (Breathe) was formed in 1972 in Belgrade by Zlatko Manojlović (ex-Džentlmeni) and prior this album, they released Veliki cirkus (A Big Circus). Povratak (The Reurn) was released in 1976, after the band’s return from Belgium, where they performed and released an album under the name Land, called Cool Breeze in 1975. It has to be mentioned that after Cool Breeze was released, the band had a live joint-venture performance with cult Dutch progressive rock band Focus in Luxembourg. Povratak is not an album that splutters of virtuosic progressive rock, but rather a selection of songs that features melodiosity and simplicity based on well-structured hard rock, funk and rock elements. Ranging from hard rock, mellow/soft rock to baladous songs, Povratak is a good choice for all those who enjoy likes such Led Zeppelin, Focus, Rush or Yes.

Although 80’s and 90’s did not bring much forth in regards to progressive music in Serbia, there has certainly been references to the subgenre in various forms. Bands like YU Grupa, S Vremena na Vreme, Galija, Neverne Bebe and others incorporated elements of progressive rock music, mostly in their first albums, but not, of course, to the degree that has been discussed in this article. Anyhow, if you are interested in exploring more Serbian rock, feel free to look for these bands, you might find something that will look interesting to you. Other than that, I’m going to push forward into the new millenium and mention a few albums that have appeared in recent years which deserve to be heard and discussed.

CONSECRATION – .avi

As I’ve already reviewed this album before (check here), I will only give a brief overview of what you might expect from this release. As I already stated, Consecration is one of the finest acts on the Serbian scene. The band blends many different genres into their music and the interesting thing about them is that the band is not based on a single genre. They’ve released two albums, the first one called Aux and the secnd one that I am writing about here. While first one was mainly rooted in doom metal, the second album brings a totally new and different approach to the band’s concept, laying their roots into more sludgy/droney waters. Isis, Cult of Luna, God is an Astronaut, Pink Floyd, 65daysofstatic are just some of the influences you may hear on this recording. But have in mind the fact that this album brings originality and freshness like you cannot imagine. The band has received very positive reviews and in general a positive feedback from all around the world, so if you are looking for something new out of Serbia, then Consecration is a good start. The album is incredibly cheap, a measly three euros for a digital download. Buy it from them immediately, before the files sell out (heh).

ANA NEVER – Ana Never

If you look on internet for this band that comes from Subotica, a town in northern Serbia, the most common description you will find is that they are labeled under post-rock. Now, let’s forget all the prejudices with genre categorizations here and let the music speaks for itself. The easiest description of this very nice band is if I would give you the names of the bands their music reminds me of. Thus let me try that easy way. Sigur Ros, Ash Ra Tempel, Can, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor… The album consists of 4 instrumental tracks that clock over 60 minutes. The band tends toward lengthy improvisations, exploring sonic spheres on their way throughout this record. The intensity here is established through droning sound walls, you don’t really need any fuzz moments every time to create something intense, and that is exactly what Ana Never successfully produces. Just a few days prior to when I wrote this article the band signed a contract with Fluttery Records and this album is now officially available all around the world, so don’t hesitate to check it out.

TEMPLE OF THE SMOKE – …Against Human Race

Temple of the Smoke is a band that emerged in 2008 and this is their first album, that actually is about to be released on Russian independent label, R.A.I.G. Records. These guys are kind of like successors to what Igra Staklenih Perli used to be, just in a heavier and spacier mode. …Against Human Race is made of 8 songs with a total duration of less than an hour and it brings a wide influential spectrum, ranging from psychedelic/space rock, krautrock, reggae, electronica, doom driven riffage to a droning form of metal. They’ve truly created an eclectic chimera. Our faithful readers and followers could meet with this band (as well as with Consecration) on the third part of our Progstravaganza compilation with a song called Naked Sun, which recalls the aforementioned krautrock, setting this band aside as, probably, the only band in Serbia that has recalled this genre since Igra Staklenih Perli’s taking such a role more than 30 years ago. Thus, if you are in mood to hear some good fuzzy hodge-podge coming out from Serbia, …Against Human Race is a right choice.

To conclude I would like to say that the albums and bands presented in this part, as well as the ones which will be presented in the upcoming parts of this series about the former Yugoslav and current scene in all former republics, are based on my personal taste and knowledge. There might be a bands that are not mentioned here or will not be mentioned in upcoming posts, but do not take it against me. We are all here to praise the music and that’s what I do. Or at least, I try to do.

The next part of the series will be dealing with progressive music scene in Croatia. In the meantime, I hope you decide to track down some of the albums I’ve mentioned.

Jaguar – Opening the Enclosure of…

Remember the UK NWOBHM band, Jaguar? They still play around today but this is the first very demos the band recorded in 1980 (7 tracks) and then two tracks from 1982 and one rare track from 1983.

I really liked the bands Power Time record a lot and the original Neat Records 7” (Chasing the Dragon) so I decided to pick this one up. While the sound is pretty raw on these demos, Gary’s guitar is mixed in your face as it should be and has that cool raw sound that I liked about the band.

They had a different singer on these early demos, a guy named Rob Reiss, so it is not the voice you were used to hearing (Paul Merrell). He is ok but nothing to write home about. The LP comes with a great heavy insert with old pics of the bands, the lyrics and all the details you would want to know about these old recordings. A really great class package if you are a fan of this band.

Garry plays a lot of ripping guitar in these mostly uptempo hard rocking tracks. If you don’t know this German Label, they are releasing a lot of classic stuff from the 80s, and some of it is really rare old underground recordings. They will release the original Trouble demos on vinyl in Feb and March 2011. I just got my copies so will review them shortly, I hope.

The Egocentrics – Center of the Cyclone

The Egocentrics are a band from and their debut record was released on Nasoni last year. I just received this new one on CD-R and it is due out on Nasoni anyday now. The CD features 7 instrumental tracks in 39 minutes.

The opening number, less travelled, opens with some nice delay guitar and then the track evolves with some heavy stoney bass and nice melodic guitar lines. It sort of floats. You need to play this loud…

Off the Center picks up the pace and is the longest track at 8 mins and has more intense down tuned riffing in a similar vein (but not production sound) as Colour Haze. No real guitar solos though, just riff changes with the bass and drums very much to the front of the sound and the drums in the back with a very garagy sound.

Sink or Swim has quite melodic guitar lines that hold the 6 min piece together. Half way through the track there is some spoken words. They say in the liner notes that there is organ on tracks 1 and 2, but it is really buried in the mix as I really did not notice it at all and Sink or Swim is suppose to have electric piano, which I did not hear at all or just barely.

Blissful Idiot hits the ground running and is a fast paced track with a Colour Haze feel and flavour in the guitar riffing.

Intuition and Coincidence starts very different with a nice reverb effect on the bass as the guitar slowy enters into a very cool track with some nice delay on the guitar and some different style playing from the other tracks (more like the opening track).

Lost and Found kicks it up into high gear again and has a great ending section with a spoken word sample from a movie. This last track is one of my favorites on the record.

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