Review Summary: "...Enter into a trance, and let your mind coalesce with a spirit much more powerful than your own."
The Apocalypse Inside Of An Orange, within it's content, is a regression to the familiar territories that Omar has taken us once before, but instead of desperately exploring any undiscovered methods within Psychedelic rock, we find Omar becoming much more acquainted with his Jazz influences. The album reflects an interest in mystical spirituality, displaying an enthusiasm for trancing musical elements and tribalistic percussion instruments- influences directly inspired by albums like Miles Davis' 1970, Bitches Brew.
The album opens with
"Melting Chariots", a mild tempered Jazz composition. And though it does contain it's moments of elevation, it follows a more harmonious agenda than the subsequent compositions.
"Melting Chariots" foreshadows the altering moods and musical directions of the album.
"Sparked From The Insult List" is perhaps the essence of everything Omar was trying to accomplish with this recent effort. It presents itself as a Jazz song, but it's decorated with the flourishing sounds of ambient psychedelia. This is a common formula found in most of the album's compositions.
"Jacob Van Lennepkade II" is perhaps the highlight of this album. This is a performance embellishing with musical intensity, whether it's Omar's incendiary bombardment of grandiose guitar notes, or the excessive release of solos in the second half by saxophonist, Adrian Terrazas-Gonzalez. This is an orchestration flourishing with relentless energy. But the album does contain it's moments of alleviation, for example,
" Fuerza de Liberacion". It's a truly anomalous piece, it has a more atmospheric touch containing psychedelic effects and subtle percussions. The track also reflects the spiritual aesthetic of the album, as the music revolves around a spoken verse by Omar that expresses itself with philosophical ambiguity.
The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange is certainly one of Omar's most interesting albums. Being the third installment in his "Amsterdam series", it was recorded during intense studio sessions that were approached as musical voyages, one were each musician pushed themselves to the limit. Individually improvising with their instruments and then fusing the end results into music. This album doesn't present any new platforms to introduce to the listener, but it does expand on past ventures and further displays Omar's growth as a musician and songwriter.
