Motorpsycho..... Thoughts?
Motorpsycho..... Thoughts?
Knowing how to listen to music is as great a talent as knowing how to make it..
One of my favorite bands of all time. Been a fan since I discovered them while touring around Europe in 1999. Only saw them once in NYC. They pretty much never play in the US...
- Matt
Keyboards/Guitar/Bass/etc. - http://www.lebofsky.com
Monstrika | Secret Chiefs 3 | miRthkon | MoeTar | Bodies Floating Ashore | Solo Stuff
Love 'em.
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
I first heard them Friday and immediately ordered the CD (The Death Defying Unicorn)
This is true, and very much due to the cost of going over there. They are a seriously heavy touring unit, hardly ever going anywhere to do just a handful of gigs. When they toured Japan, it could only happen because their (quite substantially sized) fan club actually instigated some sort of grant or something to allow it to 'round financially. It was a grand success and warranted a feature length documentary which was bought by numerous braodcasting services all over Europe and the far East.
I've been following Motorpsycho ever since the debut album back in early '91, but I suppose I didn't really catch on until the mammoth Timothy's Monster in '94, a record which essentially broke all the current rules as to what could be expressed in a Norwegian "rock" release. Loads of mellotrons and Taurus bass pedals, lengthy jamming tracks, wildness and discipline combined. Their immense catalog is highly varied and eclectic, but although they haven't really made a bad record yet, they still haven't delivered their spotless work either.
Other than Timothy's Monster and The Death Defying Unicorn, I'd start with Trust Us, Let Them Eat Cake or Little Lucid Moments.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Just discovered them in 2012 thanks to rave reviews that The Death Defying Unicorn was getting. I'm definitely hooked - have kept up with the releases since then (Behind the Sun is good to very good, Still Life is average-ish IMO) but have yet to delve into their back-catalog (so thanks to Scrotum Scissor for the rec's on where to start).
Though if they keep releasing things at this rate, I may never have a chance to catch up...
Only album I have is "Death Defying Unicorn" which is great.
Looks like I have some catching up to to......
Knowing how to listen to music is as great a talent as knowing how to make it..
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I got Timothy's Monster many years ago and didn't like it much- IIRC it reminded me of mid-1990's US "alternative" rock too much, but I liked the recent stuff I've heard a lot more. Does anyone familiar with their work care to post brief descriptions of each album?
Haven't heard Death Defying Unicorn but I'm a big fan of Heavy Metal Fruit from a few years ago.
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
For that which is not,
there is no coming into being
and for that which is,
there is no ceasing to be;
yea of both of these the lookers into truth have seen an end.
Bhagavad Gita
Too hit or miss for me to jettison them into a favorites list for me/put them on autobuy. But TDDU was pretty good, and I very much enjoyed the In The Fishtank release with Jaga Jazzist horns.
Please don't ask questions, just use google.
Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.
I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.
Sure!
Thoughts on Behind The Sun - I'm quite digging this the more I listen to it, actually. Cloudwalker is a great opener, I think - a solid rocker with a cool guitar riff. Actually it sounds like a leftover track from Still Life to me - but one that would've been a highlight of the album if they'd included it.
Ghost and Entropy are nice ballads, the latter being my favorite of the two - it might even be the best song on the album. I love the fragile-sounding nature of the vocals on that one. Plus there's a spot in the middle where the instruments are quieted down and the harmonies are brought to the forefront - a nice contrast from what I'm used to hearing from them (from what I'm familiar with, their harmonies are often buried under the instrumentation).
Hell Part 4-6 starts off nicely with a slow build, then slows considerably into some mellotronic meanderings during The Tapestry section, but the end is worth the lull in the middle. Even that lull has some interesting tidbits in it, I think - will need a few more listens on this one.
One thing I definitely am not a fan of is the closing track, Hell Part 7. Which is a shame because the end of Hell Part 6 is so good.
Oh, and the instrumental track, Kvæstor, is a nice complex jammy number.
Overall a pretty good album - I'd give it around 3.8 out of 5 stars maybe.
Dan, quite honestly; that'd take forever - but I'll give a sketchier picture a try.
Lobotomizer, Soothe and Demon Box (their first double album) (1991-93) constitute their baby steps, veering from grunge-inflected indie-rock to noisy pop and folk elements plus their earliest and somewhat immature stab at "prog" experimentalism (particularly the epic "Mountain" from Demon Box).
Timothy's Monster and Blissard (1994-96) are both transitional records, with the "artsy" factor becoming all the more pronounced in their work. Their heroes during this period were (admittedly) The Grateful Dead, King Crimson and Sonic Youth - and somehow it shows.
Angels & Daemons at Play and Trust Us (1997-98) (both double sets) somewhat continue this phase but are much more self-secure works. Some of their defining material can be found here; "Running In the Family", "Ocean in Her Eye", "Vortex Surfer", "Chien d'Espace" etc. In a sense, this is where they reach their peak as genre-defying, contemporary rock band with little hope of classification.
Let Them Eat Cake, Phanerothyme and It's a Love Cult (2000-03) make up a sort of trilogy in which their music takes on much more of a prominently psychedelic (or even retro) feel, sporting some highly refined arrangements for strings and a more detailed attention to ensemble production. They also released the mini-LP Barracuda during this period, but I haven't heard it. Rumours have that it's more of a backlash to Blissard and the tight trio rock thing.
In keeping with said mini-LP they released the double Black Oil, Black Canvas in 2006. This is arguably their straightest rock album altogether, though most of the tunes have something going for them. But it's hardly a "prog" work of any sort.
They also renamed/recreated themselves temporarily as The International Tussler Society for a while during this phase, releasing two albums of pure folky country rock. They are OK for what they are, but little more (IMHO).
Little Lucid Moments (2008) kicks off their recent and most consistent stage, also marked by the commitment of new drummer Kenneth Kapstad (who even enjoyed some pure "prog" credibilia, having played with Gåte). This double album is solid but uneven in places, but also features some truly outstanding stuff. Both Child of the Future and Heavy Metal Fruit brings this approach forward; they are essentially a "prog" influenced, current-day hard rock band with obvious retro leanings now, and it works out for the most part. Still Life With Eggplant and Behind the Sun both sit in the same track as these, but feature the brilliance of Reine Fiske (Landberk, Paatos, Dungen) among their extra assets. Good - but not really GREAT to my ears, there's quite simply a bit too much filler here.
The Death Defying Unicorn was very much the brainchild of monster keys man Ståle Storløkken - a veteran Norwegian modern jazz visionary within the Rune Grammofon family (Supersilent, Elephant9 and a dozen others). It stands out as the "progressive" pinnacle in Motorpsycho's roster and should not be missed. Another coop which succeeded totally, was the pairing of the 'psychos and the Jaga Jazzist horn section back in 2003, In the Fishtank. They are doing a mixture of older pieces and a couple of new stints made especially for the collab, so this is very much a craft of sensitive experimentation.
Their live catalog is extensive, but I wouldn't go there until you are properly acquainted with the vast bulk of studio work they have left us.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Okay I'm just gonna point out how much of a fan boy I am of this band... Bored one day I sort-of recreated their "Tristano" collaboration with Jaga Jazzist by myself (playing drums, guitars, bass, keyboards, saxophones, melodica...). After a couple hours in my basement studio, I had this:
http://www.lebofsky.com/music/sounds/tristano.mp3
- Matt
Keyboards/Guitar/Bass/etc. - http://www.lebofsky.com
Monstrika | Secret Chiefs 3 | miRthkon | MoeTar | Bodies Floating Ashore | Solo Stuff
I'd say it's more of a retro rock kind of album, done on purpose. "High Times" for example could be The Who and "Star Star Star" could be Stones. Good fun and a better overall than rather overblown "It's A Love Cult" which could have benefitted with swapping some tracks from "Serpentine" EP (Snafu and Fade To Grey).
Quite an interesting album Behind The Sun, just giving it a listen on the strength of this thread. I see they are playing in London at the end of next month (when I'm there), should be worth £15.
I've just had a look on the web, what is this extensive live catalogue to which you refer? I can only find 4-5 official examples unless I'm missing something.
I just expect extensive to be similar to that a jamband would have! Umphreys have just gone over 1000 downloadable shows!!
I love these guys. Along with Fonderia, Causa Sui, and My Brother the Wind, Motorpsycho is one of my favorite current bands. I'll agree with Scrotum Scissor that they haven't released a flawless album yet, but a few are pretty close. I just got the latest one, so let's see how they got this time.
Ha-ha, I hear you; but the thing about the 'psychos is that there's more than enough jamming on the studio albums to make up for it. Yet, the degree to which their basic approach is that of "spontaneity" remains a tricky question, as most of their released material builds on very, very calculated ground. I've probably seen the 'psychos more than I ever saw any other Norwegian rock band, and they were always tight and certified as hell.
In other words - catch them live if there is any possibility whatsoever to do so.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
This could be an awesome band to bring to a US festival, especially if they can bring Fiske along. I can't make it to ProgDay this year, but I'd love to see Motorpsycho at PD15.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
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“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
QFT. Sometimes, and not least in "prog" circles, people forget that the world outside is often (i.e. mostly) a much larger place - so that what seems small from within is actually quite the size externally. Meaning: if a progressive rock festival defines Transatlantic as a "big" name, the otherwise cult phenomenon of Motorpsycho are actually world renowned. They are an internationally touring act with a two digit number of fan clubs, turning anywhere between 5000-50,000 units of each title they issue. So yes, "prog rock" fests would hardly afford them (or Jaga Jazzist, for that matter - unfortunately).
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
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