Review Summary: An upgrade on all levels...
To some fans of psychedelic stoner rock music the name Mother Engine might ring a bell. This emerging Saxon band has already managed to impress or at least capture the attention of these genres' enthusiasts with their solid 2012 debut,
Muttermaschine. Constant gigging all over Europe has led to a bigger following that became anxious to hear their freshly released, sophomore effort,
Absturz. While it doesn't break any new grounds, it represents an admirable upgrade in both sound and composition. These guys unpacked their gear in the studio and jammed until they came up with over an hour of new material. Since each tune was crafted to take the listener on an entire journey, the album is full of substance and evokes that nice feeling of completion.
The first half offers pretty much everything you'd wish from this type of music. 'Nebel' slowly kicks in with its lovely, delayed guitar leads and deep bass lines, before jumping to a cool, murky riff with multiple breaks and lots of improvisation. It is arguably the band's best cut so far. On the other hand, 'Wüstenwind' grows from a rather dissonant main rhythm to a syncopated segment where the drums and bass are locked in a circular groove, whereas the guitar alternates from catchy riffage to mesmerizing solos. It is the perfect follow-up to such a good start. It's enticing to see how balanced
Absturz ended up by focusing on melody just as much as on the heavy parts.
Some interesting vocal interplay shares the spotlight on the cinematic 'Sonne' and to a lesser extent on 'Relief', thus bringing a small but needed change to the dense atmosphere. Also, the frantic finale, 'Hangar' sums up the band's ideas really well, ending the record on a high note, just like it started. It's safe to say they could've trimmed some parts, because midway the record slowly starts to lose momentum and the riffs seem to blend together. Nevertheless, it doesn't affect much the quality of the album, it only makes it slightly harder to digest as a whole.
Even if the length might signify a small issue for casual fans of the genre, their patience will pay off.
Absturz is a gripping affair and its Colour Haze-meets-Samsara Blues Experiment sound will surely turn on lots of listeners. This kind of jam rock is easy to enjoy and can just as well be played in the background at a party. Lately, CH have a hard time adjusting their gyroscope and until they are back in the clear, I'm happy to listen to Mother Engine instead.
