Review Summary: To make this trivial world sublime...
Phase 7: Approaching the Jazz
Part 2: Phanerothyme
Just having shocked their whole fanbase with the jazz-tinged "Let Them Eat Cake", Motorpsycho thought that this new style was something they could expand further, push to new limits. So, the three stepped into their time-machine, went back into the late sixties and came back with a lot of song ideas.
Or something like that. The record definitely feels like it happened like this.
The first thing that is different from the album before was that they incorporated way more overdubs. Making those overdubs took them so long that they had to expand their production-time on the album, a thing they seldomly did. Other than that, coming fresh from the sixties, they incorporated a lot more Beach Boys and Doors influences. But other than that, the music still was very jazz-influenced.
So, what happened now? Would this album be the first occasion of bad Motorpsycho songwriting? Did they now finally lost their identity?
The answer is a big "No!". The songs on here still showcase every skill of the members that made them such a great band. But now, let's look at the songs.
The songs on here are definitely more accessible than the ones on "Let Them Eat Cake", having more catchy melodies, but still retaining the beautifulness that the albums before had. The biggest standout tracks here are definitely the three in the middle of the album. "Go to California" is a very funky song with a long keyboard and guitar improvisation, "Painting the Night Unreal" is most possibly the most emotional song of their jazz phase and "The Slow Phaseout" ranks among the most catchy songs they ever made. But not that you misunderstand me, the other songs are also extremely awesome, containing awesome ideas, musical references, badass solos and very poetic lyrics.
In conclusion I might say that if you didn't like "Let Them Eat Cake", then you should give this album a try, because, although still being really jazzy, it is way more "rocky" than it's predecessor. And if you like the two aforementioned bands and/or are a fan of music in general, buy this album, you won't be disappointed
