Aural Innovations Issue #6 — Album Reviews, Part 2

Mushroom — Hydrogen Jukebox

(Timothy's Brain 1998, #107)

Keith Henderson

Hailing from San Francisco, Mushroom freely admits they're krautrockers at heart - right up my alley. From what I can tell, this is their second true release, though strangely there seemed to be two different versions of their first album (Alive and in Full Bloom is the one I have) on Inbetweens Records in the Netherlands. But already they've started to tweak their style, picking up where Neu! left off in 1975 and are now headed into uncharted territory.

The album opens up with Elliott Smith, 13 minutes of hypno-krautrock rhythms colored by Canterbury-style electric piano from Michael Holt and Erik Pearson's flute. Lead guitarist Dan Olmstead, a new addition to the band, throws in some light full-scale runs here and there. Perhaps a bit long-winded, but it really doesn't get boring. When the Shit Gets Tough to Face, The Tough Get Shit-faced (a great title, perhaps Caravan-inspired?) opens up with a cool Steppenwolf-style choppy blues riff, which leads directly into interweaving lead lines on piano, guitar, and bass... very nice.

Gliss-guitar and mellow synths chime in later on, making this one of the spacier Mushroom tunes. It's not hard to see what band inspired McDonald and Giles, though it sounds more like 'funky krautrock' to me as opposed to King Crimson. Nonetheless, the band wanders through 16 minutes of sonic exploration (and Patrick O'Hearn's bongo solo!) atop the varying pace of the rhythm section. By the end of the track, all six join in doing their own thing but in a very controlled and directed fashion. The latter portion of Hydrogen Jukebox, including a seven-minute reprise of the opening track, fails to hold my interest entirely, though they show adeptness at backmasking Neu!-style in Still Waiting.

I find Mushroom to be an adventurous group, with a talented rhythm section and a keen sense of exploration by the lead instrument players. Growth is evident through the merging of Canterbury music (say, Soft Machine) with their own brand of neo-Neu! (perhaps redundant, eh?) base rhythms. With some members moonlighting by collaboration with Gong's Daevid Allen (as the University of Errors), I look forward to more fine output from the Fungus Amongus (No wait...that's by a different 'Mushroom'... don't be fooled like I was).

Klangwart — Immerland

(Music & Elsewhere 1998, M+E 438, Cassette)

Jerry Kranitz

Klangwart is the duo of Markus Detmer and Timo Reuber from Germany that play ambient electronic soundscapes. They don't set themselves much apart from other electronic musicians, but do manage to keep their music interesting by avoiding the goal of relaxing the listener with sappy picturesque images of flower fields and feel good vibes.

The cassette consists of two side long pieces. Immer Weiter paints a dark, machine like vision of space. The journey takes place in the very heart of the spaceship's engine room. A little window permits a view of the cosmos that alternates between quiet blackness and utter chaos. Varied, and often distressing, sounds are introduced throughout that succeed in maintaining the floating aspect of electronica but not the relaxation. Things get a bit intense as the volume level goes up, bleeps and burps abound, and the graveyard shift in Metropolis goes into full blown production.

Nirgendland begins by creating a calm atmosphere with simple repeating melody lines. After a while we hear some tribal beats that soon develop into a pulsating, multi-layered soundscape that once again carries the listener into the more haunting regions of space. It builds just a touch of intensity and then winds down by returning to the earlier tribal rhythms. I like electronica that has that has an industrial feel and creates dark disturbing atmospheres, and in this respect Klangwart succeeds.

rhBand — Third Order Parasitism

(Drunken Fish 1997, DFR-33)

Jerry Kranitz

rhBand is a primarily electronic ensemble that play highly intense, industrial instrumental electronica. There is a variety of instrumentation that the band uses fully and creatively to produce some of the most interesting electronic music I've heard in a while. Neither of these CD's has any band information, nor could I find much on the internet, though on the Drunken Fish web page it's noted that some of the instruments are homemade. There aren't any song titles either, but they do list an arsenal of instruments and equipment that across the two CD's includes Wurlitzer electric piano, upright grand piano sound board, electric organ, sine wave generator, Jimmy horn, bowls, modular feedback generators, e-bow, wah pedals, and... you get the picture.

Third Order Parasitism opens with a pulsating machine shop drone of electronics that slowly builds in volume and intensity. There's is a good bit of raking over piano strings, which I've always thought sounds very cool and works well in horror film soundtracks and indeed it's adds tremendously to the eerie atmosphere here. Various synth sounds dart around and become more prominent during the music's two minute descent to the finale. This is powerful music that would be ideal as the soundtrack to a futuristic suspense thriller. (Or perhaps if they updated Psycho instead of that bullshit frame for frame remake... but don't get me started on that.)

The second track, also about ten minutes, begins with multiple competing synth patterns. One consists of freaky bubbling space synths, another is a repeating, decidedly non-melodic line, and a Sun Ra type organ bit that intermittently pops in and out. rhBand combines and contrasts electronic sounds and instruments to produce some refreshingly creative electronica. This is NOT music to relax and groove along to. It's highly atmospheric, though unsettling at times, and demands the listener's attention in the way that a symphony does. In fact, much of this could really be described as an electronic space symphony. The rest of the disc returns to, and expands on, the same territory and I found myself quite lost in it during it's nearly 60 minute length.

rhBand — First Tone

(Drunken Fish 1998, DFR-39)

Jerry Kranitz

First Tone, the band's most recent release, is a far more subtle affair than their debut. The first track (of four) is a ten-minute psychedelic guitar/electronic piece that strays very little from it's linear path.

The next track is a 30 minute industrial space drone that develops very slowly, and does so only by the various blips, whooshes, and string bangs that crop up throughout. Great atmospherics and I can think of a load of films it would really influence as soundtrack music. Things start to get a bit intense during the last eight or so minutes as the volume picks up and a great droning wall of fuzz starts to invade.

Throughout this track I was reminded of a huge factory that turns on this machine... then another... and so on, adding to the noise and grind of its daily operation. The third track has an industrial symphony feel and is the one track that felt could have been on Third Order Parasitism. Again we have a pulsating drone, but there's also some of the string banging and a cosmic flute playing along. The tune gets a bit ear-splitting as a high-pitched sound invades and we're treated to all manner of synth sounds.

Very interesting music from a band I'd like to know a bit more about. Definitely start with Third Order Parasitism.

Jon O'Bergh — Millennial Landscapes

(Timescape Music 1998, CD)

Jerry Kranitz

Jon O'Bergh is an electronic musician who on Millennial Landscapes explores, through these instrumental tracks, his thoughts of hope, apprehension, and celebration of the coming Millennium. The music consists of floating atmospheric space electronica, but does include a bit of what AI readers will consider new age fluff. The songs appear in versions. That is, we have Apocalypse 1.0, 1.1... you get the idea.

Among are stronger tracks are Millennium 1.0 which has a nice tribal beat at the forefront with various keyboard melodies and spacey synth sounds phasing in and out throughout the song. I also liked the four Apocalypse tracks. By the way, O'Bergh spaces most of his "versions" between each other but I decided after a couple listens that I enjoyed listening to them together better. Anyway, the Apocalypse tracks explore numerous quiet atmospheres that reach varying levels of intensity. I liked version 3.0 the best for it's dark mood. There is less overtly happening instrumentally than the other three but is very much like a symphony during a quiet, but deceivingly busy passage.

For the three versions of Continental Drift, O'Bergh did group them together as a suite. Version 1.0 is an even heavier tribal piece that will bring you straight into the space jungle if you dare to close your eyes. Version 2.0 seems to have found it's way and now confidently explores the jungle environment. Version 3.0 gets more intensely tribal but are combined with more prominent keyboard melodies. The rest of the disc is similar and if I had to decide what O'Bergh's final analysis is from his various mood reflections I would conclude it is optimism for the coming millennium.

O'Bergh does do a good job in his stated intention of communicating the various moods provoked by his reflections on the Millennium. This was interesting to me given that I deal with this subject daily at work in my role as system tester and coordinator for customer testing for Y2K readiness.

Sheavy — The Electric Sleep

(Rise Above/The Music Cartel 1998, TMC 15CD)

Keith Henderson

Who'da thunk that stoner rock would spread as far as Newfoundland, Canada? Well, it's happened in the form of Sheavy, which I assume is pronounced like the name of a particular auto maker. Though stoner rock bands need to show some additional dimension to the music to warrant distinction from the genre's four Brummie heroes, and I'm not sure Sheavy has shown me that with this album, their followup to the 1996 debut Blue Sky Mind.

Things start out rather promising, however, as Virtual Machine powers through with a scorching buzz-riff from guitarist Dan Moore. Also, Velvet is a pretty darn cool laid-back track, offering both acoustic/electric guitar and tenor/contralto vocal duets, and rather Wyndorfian in its psychyness. But then, with the opening line from Destiny's Rainbow ("Seven angels painted the heavens, six will find me still I can't know") vocalist Steve Hennessey begins his Ozzy Osbourne lovefest.

The high-pinched and semi-mocking tone he uses for most of the rest of The Electric Sleep is unequestionably Ozzman-derivative. Just as much of the guitar work is Iommi-derived; bass?: see Geezer, drums?: see Ward. For sure, the title track is 100% recycled material from various Paranoid songs. Automaton has a touch more originality, but by this point I'd already grown tired of Hennessey's "borrowed" voice. The remainder of the album's ten tracks hardly waver from that ever-so-familiar approach.

In short, all I really have to say is that Sheavy is a Sabbath tribute band that have pretended to record an original album. While credibly done, I don't really see why anyone would need this album. Hollywood does this all the time...unnecessary remakes of classic old movies with less-talented, but younger-looking actors. Like Newfoundland itself, Sheavy is a half-hour behind on the musical timeline. Hence, I give it a Siskelian (R.I.P.) thumbs down.

Pseudo Sun — Aliens Only

(Music & Elsewhere 1998, M+E 443 Cassette)

Jerry Kranitz

Pseudo Sun's follow up to last year's debut CD, Future Memoirs, is a 5-song cassette release. Pseudo Sun frontman Juba Numenniemi (former darXtar) handles the vocals, bass, synthesizers, guitars, and drums, only calling in help with drums on one track and guitar on two tracks.

On Aliens Only, Juba seems to experimenting more with electronic atmospherics. This is a far more laid back affair than the metallic crunch of Future Memoirs. Space Cathedral is a short synth intro that leads into this set's only real rocker, Solar Wind. Solar Wind is a bluesy space rocker that sounds like a drugged out 60's power trio jam rock tune. It's got a nice slow going but great feeling solo that is embellished by the swirling space synths. Very cool.

Float In Free Fall is an ambient psychedelic marching tune that seems like the most extended of the five tracks.

Destroyer Of Worlds is another laid back spacerock tune much along the lines of The Time Traveller from Future Memoirs. And One Of Many Possible Futures is a mostly ambient electronic piece.

I really liked Future Memoirs and Aliens Only is a little something to tide us over until the next full length release, Atomic Dogs Don't Bark.

Into the Abyss — Cosmogonia

(In Wonderland, 1998 (GR) IW 004)

Keith Henderson

Where the hell have these folks been hiding? Luckily, Mick Magic put a track (The Eternal Heat) from Into the Abyss' second album on his 2-cassette Music & Elsewhere compilation, and it just blew me away! Dark, ambient, gothic, totally mesmerising! So in no time flat, I was ordering their newest CD, Cosmogonia. This quintet from Frankfurt, Germany just has to find a greater audience...they're too good not to notice. Recent tours have found them playing with Bevis Frond and Embryo, so no doubt they're finding new fans.

From what I've read, The Feathered Snake album explored Aztec themes, whereas Cosmogonia seems to be built upon an Egyptian ethic. The instrumental prelude Anshar leads straight into Alexandria, which is simply too cool to easily describe. It's obvious they're not talking about Alexandria, Virginia anyway. Greek native and Into The Abyss founder Janis Kalifatidis is a commanding presence as lead vocalist, delivering his lyrics rich in mythical imagery in dramatic fashion - "White marbled City breathes in the sunlight, washed by the mouth of the East. The clash of Empires rings 'round about her, and History lingers about crowded Ptolemaic streets."

Marion Maul's flute playing on First Rebellion adds a nice touch to the already-thick orchestration. Man this stuff is good. Midway through the album, Lunar Drive blasts through with a bouncy riff, helicopter-synths circling overhead, and then we're treated to Susanne Reinhardt's devilish violin...eerie. The Cyclotron carries a stadium-sized weight behind it, as if Pink Floyd were performing it to 100,000 strong. Hermanubis is also a wonderful tune, all cosmic and airy to start, but then builds higher and higher towards a lofty peak like a Himalayan trek. The beautiful acoustic/ambient piece Crystal Eclipse and subsequent 'outro' Kishar bring us back down below the clouds so we can ponder the view of the cosmos we've just received.

The Legendary Pink Dots produce a quite different style of gothic space rock, with wild effects and oscillators aplenty - some good stuff there. Into The Abyss, though, is now my choice as the gothic band for space-heads, and prog-fans too. Kalifatidis' vocal style won't please everyone (occasionally over-the-top), but except for the one or two songs where he simply sings too much, I like his work just fine. And musically-speaking, this band is absolutely top-notch. Fantastic cosmic sound, rich arrangements, progressive writing...it's all here. Check 'em out - you'll be glad ya' did.

Martian Death Lyric — Tres Extranjeros

(UGI Records 1998, 7" Vinyl EP)

Jerry Kranitz

Martian Death Lyric are from Mars. No, it's true! They really are! And they have threatened to reduce the Planet Earth to a parking lot! Well I assume they mean with their music. Musically they are like a cross between Devo and early B-52's playing a raw garage style. Other reviews I've read include Man or Astroman, though I'd say the only comparison with that band is thematic. The bio material and photos depict a three piece but the listed lineup includes four members. They are... are you ready? Replink Slerb on synth, vox, and Minister of Propaganda, Yigrac Eeenk on strings and Tactical Command, Neyek Vieke on x-ray cannons of death and Warp Engineering, and XDP-13 on vox and Spiritual and Missile Guidance. For my money such things are all part of the fun and the music is as well.

Tres Extranjeros is a 4-song EP on dark green vinyl with two vocal tracks and two instrumentals. MDL's Creed is what I suppose is the band's theme song. The vocals are an efx'd robotic voice and the music is smashing garage guitar and a cool new wavish organ melody. MDL's Creed is what I suppose is the band's theme song. The vocals are an efx'd robotic voice and the music is smashing garage guitar and a cool new wavish organ melody. "Martian Death Lyric is our name. We are all one in the same. Human Crud came we to kill. You to us are no big deal." Whooaah... these guys mean business! Let's Put The X In Planet X is an equally zany tune. Again the vocals are efx'd though this time they are high pitched and most certainly are coming from a little green man. I can see why Lyric is part of the band name because lyrically these guys are a riot. "Let's put the X in Planet X. The Rocket in my pocket wants to flex. We'll add some porno to our star treks."

1 Minute A.D. and Walk The Xenomorph are the two instrumental tracks. The former is a short tune that sounds to me like a garage rock version of early B-52's. Xenomorph is a cool track that combines intricate percussion work with that smashing garage guitar. A heavy low-end bass soon comes in giving the music a dark intensity. This is the track that makes me hope these guys don't get compared too much to Man or Astroman because Martian Death Lyric's music is far more varied and interesting. Overall, these four tunes really aroused my interest and hopefully the band is working on a full length release.

Orange Goblin — Time Travelling Blues

(Rise Above/The Music Cartel 1998, TMC 16CD)

Keith Henderson

So-called 'Stoner Rock' has seemingly grown in awareness ten-fold over the last two years or so, probably in no small part to the commercial success of Monster Magnet. In ten years though, who will be the two or three artists that pass the test of time and are remembered as the stoner kingpins? I hesitate to guess, though I wouldn't be surprised to see the Goblins among them. This album really surprised me - so many doomy bands write simplistic, fuzz-heavy tunes that they hope will cover their weaknesses. I didn't go through and count the number of discrete guitar riffs on this T.T. Blues, but there are many times more than there are tracks. Orange Goblin isn't all attitude like I thought, they are seriously good songwriters.

The very best music comes early in the sequence, highlighted by Solarisphere and Shine. At over 6 minutes, the former is a rare multi-phase anthem including the toned-down and melodic bridge sections and vocals by Ben Ward that thankfully stop short of being entirely derisive. Shine though is an absolute wonder, beginning from the Jon Lord-style organ intro by a guest identified only as Fred. The tune itself though is far more trippy and spaced-out than the average metallised band is ever arsed to create, more in the style of the Dead Flowers than Black Sabbath. The juxtaposition of quiet interludes with the all-out twin-guitar attack (Pete O'Malley & Joe Hoare) alone sets this band aside from all the others in the area of effective dynamics.

Another thing that I noticed (which is very rare) is that the lyrics are of a superior quality to that which I suspect is the norm (not being particularly tuned into poetry/lyrics, mind you). For instance, over the heavy funk of Snail Hook Ward delivers, "A porpoise sunrise in a turquoise land, a purple turtle with his head in the sand. The sweet sensation of a neon sun, my psychedelic dream has begun." Dunno what it means, but I like it. Finally, if you were wondering about the 'blues' in the album's title, indeed the final track (barring the bonus rehearsal session) T.T. Blues is straight from the blues-rock tradition of any number of bands featuring Paul Rodgers as vocalist, though the heavy chorus punches up the volume to unprecedented levels.

I don't think it's a stretch to refer to Orange Goblin as "intelligent riff merchants", with a success ratio that rivals some of my older favorites like Diamond Head, who they even resemble at times. I haven't mentioned the rhythm section of Martyn Millard (bass) and Chris Turner (drums), so I will now since they are also first-rate musicians. It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised with an album that you were ho-hum about going in. And I only thought, "Hey...they ripped off Children of the Grave" twice when listening to this album, as opposed to the usual dozen or more such thoughts.

Nebula — Let it Burn

(Relapse 1998, RR 6991, 8-song version)

Keith Henderson

Last time, I told you about the debut mini-CD that Nebula (the Fu Manchu spin-off) put out on the Man's Ruin label. Well, since then, they've spliced on two more tracks, and have re-released it (same cover photo/different band logo) as a nearly full-length disc (35 minutes).

If you haven't already gotten the original, take the time to track down this one instead, because one of the new additions (Sonic Titan) is probably the strongest on the album. Of course, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath comes to mind almost immediately once it starts, but after the full seven and a half minutes are through, you find that Nebula put serious thought into developing some interesting themes.

Again, the vocal melodies leave something to be desired - in fact, this is one of those rare instances where I'd be elated to hear a catchy chorus once in awhile.

Devil's Liquid, the album's new finale, is another standard stone-rocker...a rapid-fire riffing and bass vamping feast, but really only limited appeal to my ears.

Nebula / Lowrider — Nebula / Lowrider split CD

(Meteor City 1998, MCY-004)

Keith Henderson

Nebula has been very busy in the EP-making process, as they have now collaborated with Swedish stoners Lowrider on a Double EP (4 tracks each). (And now I've learned that Nebula has another (solo) EP out already... geez, ever heard of albums?).

OK, it's apparent that Eddie Glass' vocal style is staying put... monotone delivery of half-shouted lyrics and no melodic choruses. I don't like it, and that's too bad, because the man can deliver some magnificent heavy-psychedelic riffs.

Anything From You and Full Throttle win me over instantly with the dark & doomy vs. the light & bubbly that works well for just about anybody. Unfortunately, the other tunes aren't quite strong enough to make up for the weak melodies and unimaginative singing.

Lowrider chooses to stretch out a bit more on their songs, and so these four tracks take up almost 22 of the album's 38 minutes. They share singing duties with guitarist Ola and bassist Peder handling most of the lead vocals.

Ola's voice on Lameneshma has a peculiar quality to it reminding me of an old glam-rock band (perhaps it's Noddy Holder of Slade I'm thinking of?). Anyway, I liked it here, and the lyrical lines they created were definitely an improvement over Nebula.

Oh yeah, no doubt every track resembles Children of the Grave but with those oh-so-necessary quiet bridge sections. And yeah, Upon the Dune pulls out the same-ole Eastern tabla gimmick we've heard a thousand times before.

But lest you think I've grown a little too cynical about the stoner boom, I'm still ready for a bit more to come my way (I have higher-than-average saturation limits), and so Lowrider stays on my future acquisition list. That is, as long as future releases are domestic. Otherwise, I'll stick with hunting down other Orange Goblin material instead.

Datura — All Is One

(Cranium 1998, CRM 002)

Keith Henderson

Take a trip down under, hang a left, and find the north island of New Zealand. There you will find a pretty cool stoner band named Datura. Cranium Music, the lone Kiwi space/psych music label, found them also and so now their music is ready for worldwide consumption. Allisone is made up of seven heavy rockers and one uncredited folksy psych tune hidden at the end, but together total only about 35 minutes of disc time.

Musically-speaking, Datura's style is nearly indistinguishable from either California's Fu Manchu or its offshoot Nebula. Fuzz-heavy riffs, thundering bass, copious amounts of wah-wah soloing, aggressive vocals...it's all in there. One difference though...vocalist (and bassist) Craig Williamson has a voice most similar to Glenn Danzig - maybe not quite so deep and resonant, but Williamson uses the same sort of inflections. It works well here, and for that reason alone I'd say Datura is worthy of checking out.

That said, I don't really feel that they've written enough good tunes to jump to the top of the Stoner pile. Man in the Moon really gets me going with its funky-fuzz, bass-thumpin', and guitar screamin', but then I had to wait until the finale, Mountain to hear something as good. Here, they present a darker, almost-gothic feel that really does sound original. The lyrical lines were well-written, the crazy psych-guitar swashing provided a nice backdrop, and the extended outro jam was a great way to finish off the album. Which then it doesn't, as the hidden track still remains. (Hit the fast forward...there's no sense in waiting.)

OK, I'm ready to give this album a 'thumbs up,' though I think they could do a bit more to distance themselves stylistically from all those jumping on the stoner bandwagon. The gothic quality of Mountain was a good start, and tells me they have the tools to do just that. I'll be back to check in on them next time 'round, and see how they've made out.

Nick Riff — Sublime Prescription / Area 51

(Sonic Swirl 1996, 011)

Space Team Electra — The Vortex Flower

(Luminous Records 1998, LR 02-2)

Jerry Kranitz

Based in Denver, Colorado, Space Team Electra plays music that is sometimes crushing, guitars crashing to create an impenetrable sonic wall of sound... while at other times being dreamily melodic. What all these tracks do have in common though is that they are songs, and lyrically intense songs at that. The band consists of Myshel Prasad on vocals and guitar, Bill Kunkle on guitar, Kit Peltzel on drums, and Greg Fowkes on bass.

Being a fan of music that explores and develops I'm struck by how Space Team Electra's music often does precisely that while always stopping short of overshadowing Prasad's vocals. It's been some time since I was able to groove along with good jamming music while simultaneously reading the lyric sheet. "I am gruesome I am pure, I am too much to endure, I am flying without strings, I'm too much of everything". These words from Shadow jumped off the page at me and prompted me to pay attention to more than the music which I tend not to do.

My favorite tracks are the more intense ones in which the music strives for volume and passion and Prasad's vocals do the same. Dazzle is a wonderful track that blasts into a toe tapping space rockin' psych heaven with some great acidic guitar moments. The heavy parts have that sonic layered sound but aren't noisily overwhelming. As Prasad says, "While our live sound often coalesces into an enormous sea, we attempted to really separate and crystallise everything on the record, to control the layers, make it all more subtle and at the same time, more stark."

There are indeed some seriously cosmic musical moments here. For example, Lucifer's Tongue is a short feedback-heavy, pulsating, and erupting instrumental track. And Oasis starts with Myshel singing a short verse against a heavy drum beat and then launches into brain splitting guitar blazing anguish. This is the track that demonstrated for me that both lyric and music can achieve the same emotional level with Space Team Electra.

Speaking of which, Isabel is a great finale song which alternates between easy going verses and intense vocal/instrumental passages, and is possibly the most vocally powerful song on the album. The song really has a majestic feel. But wait... did I say this was the last song? There are 99 tracks on this CD! Well, the 13th is a freaky spaced out electronic bit and the rest are the same 6 second drone repeated over... and over... and over. I listened to every one waiting for the big hidden track. Got me!

In summary, Space Team Electra should appeal to those who like both cosmically intense guitar-driven rock and well-written melodic songs. Lots of stuff here that is radio-friendly and would in the process surprise the masses with music that is actually good. A note to the band: Dizzy is your hit single kids!

Karamasov — On Arrival

(Satellite Records 1998, STL-016 CD)

Keith Henderson

Karamasov is an interesting hybrid of Canterbury-style progrock and Krautrock, though I shouldn't be too surprised as the quartet appears to be half-English (keyboardist Adam Stewart and bassist Harry Rambaut) and half-German (guitarist Johannes von Weizsacker and drummer Berit Immig). On Arrival contains 10 short tunes totaling a mere 34 minutes, a far cry from the usual progrock modus operandi. All of the tracks but one (featuring only a single lyric line itself) are pure instrumentals, and range from more basic repetitive rhythms to music that is quite complex.

From the very outset, the tinny snare sounds and syncopated drumming of Immig reminds me of Can's Jaki Leibezeit... and it works well here just as it did on Tago Mago over 25 years ago. Naturally, I found myself wanting to compare every other aspect of Karamasov's music to Can. 8 Beef Critter is a touch dancier tune than classic Can, with a funky rhythm that is adorned with bluesy keyboard runs.

Fengan Nemo is truly the cat's meow though... cool, cosmic, rhythmic bliss, with a bassline that is far more active than Holger Czukay's normal mode of operation. "Don't you know the sun always shines in space" is the lone lyric line I was telling you about (in the track of similar name), and is echoed over and over against a danceable, choppy beat. Thrown in are generous servings of synthetic bleeping and gurgling and a touch of roller-rink organ. Great stuff.

But there are also a couple weak spots. Morgenmuffel is the type of 'wanker' prog that leaves me cold...and here it's muted in a way that makes for a dull experience. On the other side, Roadsnack is just too techno for my tastes even though it tries hard to be fully orchestrated as opposed to pure beat.

With some reservations, I recommend Karamasov to those who like adventurous music, whether it be in the form of progrock, space rock, or dance music. The beats and rhythms are accessible, and thankfully they manage to keep the music from becoming too cutesy. But some work, and some don't. And at only 34 minutes, you might think twice about paying an import price if that's what it takes.

Sh'mantra — Cornucopia

(Cranium Music 1998, CRM003 CD)

Jerry Kranitz

The latest release from our friends at Cranium is Australian band Sh'mantra's debut CD. The music, though difficult to define, is a great mix of psychedelia, raw jam rock, metal, and progressive rock. The band consists of Matt Seldon on bass, Thorin Kerr on keyboards and vocals, Alex Hole on guitar, Shane Wedesweiller on guitar, and Michael Lenton drums. The very cool cover painting depicts an apocalyptic world with what looks like robots sporting bullhorns on a terrain that seems to be a microchip. Smokestacks billow in the background. I think this is a concept work and a voice during the first track says something about radiation fallout.

The 10 minute opening track, Recurring Nocturnal Habit is an overture piece building up very slowly and features some cool, though not flashy, metal sounding guitar. Shipwreckers, one of my favorite tracks, is an extended jamming piece that gets downright psychedelic jazzy. One guitar and the rhythm section maintain the jazz feel while the other guitar wails away in an all too brief freakout. Spawn Of Tamagotchi is a raw, jamming metallic piece that perfectly fits the dark world depicted in the cover painting. Sh'mantra excels at creating adventurous heavy rock that focuses more on telling a story and creating aural landscapes than being flashy, which is what this style of music typically is.

The music is primarily instrumental, though there are some voiceovers and some dissonant vocals on A'extent Dawn that sound like Robert Wyatt (though the music certainly doesn't). I really like how this track alternates between light music during the vocal sections and bursts of doomy metal. There's some good guitar work with one guitar providing a psychedelic metallic crunch and the other playing a simple, but disturbing melody line. The rest of the disc follows these themes and I loved the distinct, but cooperative contributions from the twin guitars.

In summary, Sh'mantra plays heavy, but melodic rock that should appeal to spacerockers, and fans of heavy psych and prog.

The Crayon Theatrical — The Crayon Theatrical

(Skeptical Cat Recordings 1998, Cassette)

Jerry Kranitz

The Crayon Theatrical is a solo project by Dayton, Ohio resident Michael Homyk, who self recorded and plays all the instruments on this cassette release. The eight songs here consist of easy paced pop-psych vocal numbers that sometimes have a folk-psych edge. Homyk produces a nice effect with his acoustic and electric guitar combination. There's lots of wah-wah that gives the music a real 60s feel and I'll bet a couple of these tunes would have had hit single potential in that era.

There isn't a lot of diversity across these eight songs, though Homyk's vocals fit the songs well and I never tired of his dreamily paisley guitar sound. One track that stood out as being more instrumental than the others is Doll House, which features laid back, lo-fi acoustic guitar and bubbling synth work.

In addition to his solo projects Homyk is also guitarist and vocalist for the Skeptical Cats who sometimes sound like a full band version of The Crayon Theatrical, though without the psych influences.

Mako — Mako Part 6

(Blue XII Records 1999, Cassette)

Jerry Kranitz

I've got very little info on this one as all I received was a cassette and a scribbled note that says "all sounds by Nyko Half". The musician is Garry Banks from right here in Ohio (though I don't know where Waynesville is). But what the heck, there's music on it.

It sounds like an all-electronic effort with the emphasis on percussion. A heavy thudding beat is layed down and repeats for a while with a vague synth melody behind it and some mumbled efx'd chanting. This ends abruptly and then begins a freaky electronic piece. The percussion is again thudding, but there's a number of synth lines, one of which consists of a screeching fingernails-across-the-blackboard sound that... well it was annoyingly interesting if that makes any sense.

Just when I felt it was getting overly repetitive the screeching sound became EAR SPLITTING and the synths went wild. I had to turn down the volume. Things eventually calm down and Banks moves into some more interesting explorations with the electronics at his disposal.

I liked the machine industrial atmosphere which was dark but not painful like the screeching was. Banks has a lot of good ideas and I'm going to guess he's still experimenting and discovering.

The Pins — All The Night Sky

(Stick It To The Man Records 1998, STICK-003)

Jerry Kranitz

From Minneapolis, The Pins play melodic pop-psych songs. The band consists of Rich Barlow on guitar and vocals, Jim Boulware on bass, Steve Shaskan on electric piano, moog, and vocals, and Beth Van Dam on drums and vocals. All The Night Sky is their third release.

Musically there are some good ideas here. The band has a raw 60's sounding rhythm that is mixed with a more modern pop-psych sensibility. Much of it borders on the standard shoegazer sound, but The Pins are more committed to the song format and don't drift off into a meandering drone. The sound is a bit rough but the disc was recorded in the band's basement practice space and so I applaud them for making things happen on their own.

The Pins' main weak point I'm afraid is the vocals on several of the tracks. The male vocalist is a bit irritating and damages what are pretty good tunes. What's interesting is that when harmonies are included they are quite strong. For example, Collide, which has drummer Beth Van Dam as vocalist, has really good harmonies that give the song an almost Beatles-like sound. Definitely one of my favorite tracks on the CD. Hollow Bells starts taking the band a bit more overtly into psych territory and features a nice shimmering guitar sound. Salamander is another highlight featuring a wildly strumming guitar combined with a somewhat more acidic guitar, and both against a dense droning background. Shipwreck Song is a tortured bit of dark intensity that is a bit different from the other songs. A nice contrast that really threw me off when it then returned to more melodic territory on the next track Firefly.

In summary, The Pins have a good sense for writing good pop-psych songs. A better vocalist (make Beth the lead?) and a well recorded disc could bring these folks some serious attention.

Tombstone Valentine — Hidden World

(Aether Records 1998, aecd-103)

Jerry Kranitz

The CD reissue of Tombstone Valentine's debut vinyl LP (as reviewed in AI Issue #3) is partly a brand-new release. The six tracks include three of the vinyl's four tracks (Triple O Shuffle is left off) plus three new tracks. The band play an exciting brand of early freeform Krautrock influenced space, but with a fresh and exciting approach. The band consists of Diane Hancock on Farfisa, synth, hand percussion, and vocals, Randy Schwartz on violin, e-bow, and bass, Greg Toombs guitar, and hand percussion, Richelle Toombs on Farfisa, synth, hand percussion, and lead vocals, and Rick Wilkerson on bass and rhythm guitar.

The music has that great exploratory feel reminiscent of bands like Amon D??l and Can, as well as the best of the psych explorers. The Farfisa on Green Sky Night is MOST welcome and Richelle Toomb's vocals give the music a kind of performance artsy feel. Somewhere, Here could well have been an archival track from Berlin in 1970, but is indeed Tombstone Valentine in the late 90's. The guitars wander and explore in the trippiest of fashions while the bass provides a plodding backbone and the synths embellish the music with classic experimental electronica. Forget structure... this music is pure exploration.

And speaking of Krautrock and exploration... Krautrock In Three Parts is an 18 minute space epic! The tune opens with a simple but gorgeous Farfisa line, a background drone, slowly tripping guitar, and a cosmically ascending/descending synth. The band soon goes into what must be pure improvisation with each member strumming, plucking, and banging to produce a space-psych experimental heaven. A true return to the days of the pioneers. Devotion has a freaky Middle Eastern psych feel and Richelle's vocals create a pleasantly eerie atmosphere. She has a wonderful voice and the acidic guitars and organ that back her make for a really liquid psych experience.

The rest of the disc is similar and further demonstrates Tombstone Valentine's comfort with improvisational space explorations of the more purely freeform sort. Highly recommended to fans of early Krautrock and adventurous psychedelia.

Species-Being — Yonilicious

(GrauSpace Music/Jamaelot Recordings 1998)

Jerry Kranitz

Species Being play a quirky form of instrumental fusion that is wildly everywhere at once, but is clearly structured. As stated on the bands' web page, "Yonilicious is a series of 11 vignettes strewn together to form a continuous non-piece' of music." The music struck me as a cross between Curlew, 70's Washington, DC band The Muffins, and when things get really aggressive... a dash of Dr. Nerve. Oh, and perhaps a sprinkling of Zappa.

Yeah, we're way outside spacerock territory. But the music is inventive and kept my attention throughout its 40 minutes. Species Being is the brainchld of beyond-o-matic member Frank Grau with help from fellow beyond-o's Stenzo and Rev. Fuhry, plus Steve Meicke on sax, Brad Davis on guitar, and Sam Morris on vocals.

The music is strongly percussion-based but isn't just a drum-fest. Rev. Furhy came equipped with all his beyond-o-matic toys, and the horns are an important part of the project as well. The music changes pace often, and abruptly, but attention has been paid to giving some sense of flow to these transitions. If the music shares anything in common with beyond-o-matic it's the banquet of wild sounds the pervade the music. If any AI readers are also fans of the Cuneiform label you'll love Species Being.

The Magic Elf — Elf Tales

(Big Shoe Music 1998, BSM-7001)

Jerry Kranitz

The Magic Elf is the prayer answer to all those Dixie Dregs fans who have just given up hope that the Dregs will ever release an album that doesn't sound identical to the previous one (including Morse solos). Playing a blistering brand of instrumental fusion and progressive rock this trio also strays slightly into metal, classical, and even a dash of country. Guitarist Carl Roa studied at the Berkley College of Music and graduated from the University Of Miami with a degree in Jazz Performance and Composition. Drummer Dave Miranda studied jazz fusion and also plays in the hardcore outfit The Six & Violence. Bass duties are handled on various tracks by George Panos and Saul Zonana.

Much of what gives the Magic Elf their identity (apart from the obvious influences) is rather than being a showcase for guitarist Roa, Magic Elf is a power trio that seems to give equal prominence to the guitar and drums. Roa is very much a vocalist in that his guitar creates each song's melody, but Miranda's drumming right out there with him helping to create the feel of the songs.

There's plenty of heavy rockin' here that display the musicians' proficiency and ability to handle both flash and good melodies. Songs like Mr Destructo, Hobgoblins, and the metallic Limbonic State will put you in the seat of the guy in the Maxell tape commercials where the chair is blown across the room by the rush of the music blasting from the stereo. Magic Elf do allow some breathers as well. Greensleep is an ambient-acoustic piece that briefly slows the pace and Tree Talk is a solo classical acoustic guitar number. It's interesting that despite the heavy Dregs sound, the opening track, The Big Shoe, forecasts that this will be more along the lines of Allan Holdsworth. I don't hear the Rush influences that several reviewers have cited, but I haven't heard a lot of Rush in recent years.

In summary, The Magic Elf will blow you away if you like technical progressive fusion that has chops galore, but is also creatively composed. A note to the band: Heed the first line of this review and don't fall into the same rut Morse and company did.

Brannan Lane — Caribbean Dream

(World Circle Records 1998, WCR798CD)

Jerry Kranitz

A bit different for Aural Innovations, but still containing some interesting electronic work, is solo artist Brannan Lane. The stated intention here is to bring new age and world music together on a Caribbean theme. The all-instrumental music features Lane on Latin percussion, pan flute, steel drums, saxophone, classical flute, keyboards, bass, drums, and nature.

The promo material attempts (successfully) to categorise each of the 16 tracks so we know before each tune whether it will be of a Caribbean, world/ambient, ambient/space, new age, or reggae nature. In a nutshell, Caribbean Dream couldn't be a better title as I was unable to rid myself of warm island images and found myself craving a piña colada.

Nothing adventurous, but it did get my toes tapping, and I think electronic musicians would be interested in some of Lane's sounds. Not surprisingly, the tunes that would interest AI readers are the world, space, and ambient entries. The only song I flat out didn't like was the opening track Welcome which reminded me more of the t-shirt touristy Caribbean rather than the laid back beautiful blue watered Caribbean that the subsequent tracks managed to illustrate.

Lane is already at work on his next release entitled Blueprint which will explore a new age & jazz theme.