Review Summary: So comfortable they lost their mojo
Colour Haze are one of the original leading acts in the stoner/psychedelic movement in Europe. With a career spanning over 20 years, the German outfit has helped popularize and added a lot to these genres along the years. Previous efforts like
Periscope,
Los Sounds De Krauts, the self-titled and
Tempel are classics that still stand as prime examples in the entire sphere, thus influencing a myriad of contemporary acts. In the past decade, the band has slowly switched from heavy, sometimes manic jams to loose, atmospheric cuts that often tend to borrow more from progressive territory rather than stoner. Their forays into soul searching psychedelia has culminated with
She Said, a double LP that even though felt quite indulgent at times, it brought some lovely tunes that were both expansive and melodic.
Arriving overnight, without any publicity or much hype,
To The Highest Gods We Know is in every way the opposite of
She Said. Short and easy to digest, this record aims to cater only to the thirsty fans. Even so, there is an issue. Listen to it carefully once and you'll end up noticing very few parts got stuck in your head, while most just faded away. Do it again and you'll discover plenty of similarities to their past works... in fact the entire album relies so much on already covered ground, it falls flat and that's really disappointing. Opener 'Circles' sounds like a less dense and slowed down version of 'Aquamaria', finally peaking at half point with some enjoyable leads, whereas 'Call' needs 8 minutes to go nowhere. They mostly use the same, tired chords and repetitions without adding anything new or even remotely unexpected. The latter drags on for 6 minutes until the drums and bass kick in for a heavier rendition of the main riff and that's pretty much it. It even gets an irrelevant reprise in the end, under the title 'Last Call'.
Luckily, in between these two dull epics lies 'Paradise', a short, less pretentious ditty that fares better overall only because it doesn't get lost in dull passages and noodling segments. Otherwise, it brings everything you would expect from the band: fuzzy riffs, cool grooves and deep bass lines. Unfortunately, the vocals sound faint and at times out of tune. It is true that they have never been a focal point, but usually managed to add another dimension to the tracks, even lifting them considerably. Here, however, they seem to be thrown in just because a Colour Haze album should have vocals.
It's frustrating to see how comfortable these guys have been with
To The Highest Gods We Know. Releasing such an average record that feels pieced from rehashed ideas was not something you would expect from Colour Haze.
She Said was bloated, but at least it was expansive and most importantly, created with passion. The fact that the band even mentioned delving onto a new path with this latest journey makes things even harder to take seriously. Yes, there is the Spanish-flavored title track with its long, flamenco-tinged intro, percussion and an interesting Indian, mantric coda, yet it doesn't have the strength to create a complex experience on its own. After half an hour of mostly dull jams, this gem does feel like a welcome break, but it's the entire album that should've been crafted around this tune, not the other way round. Hopefully,
TTHGWN is merely a transition to a higher ground and not an actual sign of exhaustion, because years ago CH have reached their comfort zone and now seem unwilling to jump out of it. They'll never actually create a bad record, still, this is the moment the guys need to start the engine again. It would be a shame to slip and become carbon copies of themselves.
