Spinning "The Tower" for the first time right now. Sides one and two were great! Motorpsycho seem to have done it again. Now it's time for sides three and four ... BTW: Is this the first album without involvement from graphic designer Kim Hiorthøy (except the first two records)?
Really like the music, but the jacket comes off as cheap (same as Here Be Monsters 2). I wish it were a standard gatefold with a poster insert. This isn't very robust and arrived dinged up.
I like the fold out concept but as you mentioned it is not sturdy enough to hold the records on a long term without getting damaged. I keep all parts separate in a vinyl cover protective sleeve.
Listen to the Bandcamp flac download 6 or 7 times by now. Getting better each time, a lot is going on this album. Like a good wine, savour it in small doses. It opens up nicely after a few spins. Vinyl time tonight on the headphones gear. You must try this alternate way of listening to The Tower if you didn't so far! Nicely layered tracks, lot of details and some creepy effects (eg vocals on Intrepid Explorer). Cannot rate this album as each output of their extended discography has its purpose. Ok perhaps some got less air time here at home but nevertheless they get played. I would recommend this album to anyone who wants to discover MP. It sums up pretty well their whole catalog while laying the basis for the future.
Pretty much agree with everything said in the last few posts. Psychonauts old and new everywhere seem to be in almost unison praise of this album, which is pretty rare for Motorpsycho. Usually you have the old-timers complaining that it doesn't sound or isn't as good as in the 90s, and the more recent fans who loved the more technically perfect '10-era albums. This time around, almost everyone seems to be in agreement that it's a phenomenal album which offers (almost) everything great about Motorpsycho, in a recognizable yet even more refined and advanced style. I am still not 100% convinced by one or two tracks (opener The Tower and the slightly too long A Pacific Sonata), but other than that, this album is a masterpiece.
Masterpiece it is! And that's why MP is so interesting. From my first comment about the album, Pacific Sonata was the one standing out from the lot. 3 reasons for that: the song structure, Snah clean guitar playing and the long jam à la Grateful Dead. MP is offering a lot for everybody but not everybody ears are cutted for MP!
Just ask those guys in the Grateful Thread about that. Wannabe iconoclasts and travellers in sound the lot of them But not one of them would even bother to check this band out... Well, can't win 'em all. The sad part is that it is definitely their loss.
Dead heads amd Beatles fan share a few things in common: loyalty and the inability to listen to anything else!
I must be doing this fan-thing wrong somehow... They are just ignoring my suggestions, I think. Musta have harshed their mellow a couple of times too many
I only have 1 GD album and that is Live Dead! This album and Dark Star are what GD is all about for me. Maybe a GD fan can drag me into their thread so I can get converted...
Well, I listen to the Dead at least three hours every day, but I wouldn't call myself a fan... And I have more Dead records than MP ones, but that is only because there are a lot more to be had. You should check out at the very least a few other live albums, I think. Cornell 5/8 '77 is supposedly their best gig ever, according to the hyperbole. I would strongly disagree, but it is really wonderful and easy to love. Europe '72 vol. 1+2 have tons of jamming, a great "Dark Star" and lots of really great songs. The Dead is so much more than just that interstellar albatross and wild druggy groovin', if you ask me. Aoxomoxoa is a really good studio record other than the two more famous, country-rockish ones. In fact they have quite a few very enjoyable studio albums, even if people say differently. MP loves the Dead, no reason why you shouldn't allow yerself to enjoy all of these pleasures as well Edit: a ton of 'em.
Hey, thanks! I need to revisit some of this stuff this fall. Wasn't conclusive the last time I tried early GD. I remember trying to listen to some of these as background music while I was working from home. I need to make some quality time to listen to these albums. I am a sound and music junky so the druggy groove surrounding the GD environment is unrelevant to my own purpose: Music listening. Artist can do whatever they want with their personal life as long as the musical output makes me fly, I am all in! Speaking about this, are you familiar with Raoul Bjorkenheim discography?
Not at all, but I'm still watching a gig on Youtube, 30 minutes after pushing play My 'problem' with jazz (mostly listening to pre-war stuff, Keith Jarrett, the electric Miles, Garbarek or fusion when I'm in the jazz groove) and is that I already have too much music to listen to (yeah, right), so finding something that you really like without actively looking is kinda hard. This on the other hand, will get revisited. He is very 'rockist' in his approach to the guitar playing, tho. Like some wild mix of Fripp and Page playing surf music from Saturn. Quite a few nods to Rypdal in there as well. And I didn't mean the enviroment surrounding the latterday Dead, which anyway is really not my scene. What with the dayglo hippies spinning in circles in the parking lot instead of being at the gig... No, I meant that some of this music is so out there because of the players input seriously enhancing their output that some people only focus on that part of it and find the actual songs to be mere distractions from the groove (maaan). All of this can scare potential listeners away... Anyway, I see that the Motorpsycho tour is on the way after some minor hiccups. The first gig which was supposed to be in Longyearbyen, Svalbard this Thursday, was cancelled because of SAS (not the British military, rather the airline) is striking. The bastards! A few friends saw 'em play a blinder of a show in Trondheim last night. Two sets, both approx. 80 minutes each. Very Dead-ish. The setlist, Verkstedhallen 17.09.2017: Set 1 The Tower Cloudwalker The Cuckoo In Our Tree > High Time > Starmelt/Lovelight August In Every Dream Home Upstairs/Downstairs Feel A.S.F.E. Hell, part 1-3 Set 2 Ship of Fools Manmower Intrepid Explorer Lacuna/Sunrise Cornucopia Bartok of the Universe Heartattack Mac Here Be Monsters Perfect mix of shorter songs, epics and a lot of stuff from the new album. My mouth is already watering by reading this. Next weekend cannot be here soon enough
You might add Bruce Springsteen fans to that list. Sometimes I wonder if those people actually like *music* or are they just in it for the fanboy/girl ride?
Agree, that is an absolute corker of a setlist! I hope they continue this format the rest of the tour - will only be able to see them in Larvik but this looks ultra-promising!
I really like this latest album but the lyrics are quite often weak, as is often the case with Motorpsycho. I wish they sang in their own language as it would add another layer of weirdness for this English listener.
Ah, the nerve of some people, eh. The music is not strange enough, but now you want 'em to sing Norwegian jibberish as well. You greedy bunch of... I see your point, tho. But what I don't understand is why that would really matter. I also disagree with the lyrics being weak. But as a fellow Norwegian suffering from somewhat broken English (and totally demolished Chinese) I would do just that, wouldn't I. I just think that their grasp of the language and the erratic pronounciation actually enhances the funny side of it and keeps it from becoming too poo-faced and serious. And that is the part which I suspect a lot of 'you natives' might miss out on. Because in a way Bent (in particular) sings words in a way that expresses what I could only describe a Norwegian mindset. There are layers of humour and meanings to these words that are probably a lot easier to understand if you were from up here in the cold wastes and a lot of it is very specific to the Trondheim area and a lot of this, including the sleevenotes and the parts of the titles written in parenthesis, is even more local than that again: a Svartlamoen state of mind. That old hardtarbeianes trøndersk hippie på flein og karsk-mentality. It is often claimed by the British that we Scandos don't have a sense of humour. And we are mostly too polite to tell you otherwise, even if you think we are glum and stupid. Then again we just let you guys keep on believeing that you are superior so we can keep on laughing at your confusion. At least that was the case in all the years I lived, worked and partied like it was 1999 every day in Oslo and hung out with a lot of Brit expats. Horrible people to a man, of course. Which goes without saying is my kind of people. Then again, most of this is just my opinion (maaan). And then again I got a very good point Hope you enjoy the album anyway. It is a monster.
Yes indeed, Sir. Hopefully they will keep on playing 5-7 songs from the new one and mix up the others as well. I wouldn't mind K9 or some more songs from Blissard and BtS. Seeing them at Konserthuset in Oslo next Saturday. I'm preparing to have my mind totally blown.
While it is connecting somehow to electric jazz, this is far away from Miles and others. You are right about the heavy Fripp influence. And by heavy we mean frm the Red era. There's also a lot of influences from the John McLaughlin Extrapolation era. The next logical step to follow up will be The Scorch trio with fellow Norge Palle Nielsen-Love on the drums. You might also want to open the pandora box by discovering John Zorn but I would recommend you to read a few good article on Wikipedia before you listen to anything from him. He has a broad range of composing styles from classical to thrash metal.. Sounds familiar with this thread OP
Lol. I guess we could extend the irritating bands fan list forever but I guess you are right, some rides are lasting longer than others...
Ah, that particular avenue of plaisir was paved a loooong time ago, my Canuck friend. Naked City I was just very badly phrasing my mangled English there. Looooong time ago I used to jazz it up like a mofo. These days my listening consists of Miles and all that other tripe I mentioned. And Red it is. Love that album.
Jjk Weak lyrics and rock'n'roll often go very well together anyway... Some fun Norwegian humor can be found in the Lillehammer Netflix series. Having been employed by a Norwegian firms for years, I can insure you that the North people do have a very good sense of humor.
I guess we can switch each other music collection for a week w/o been too lost! Hopefully, one of these days MP will show up in my hometown one of these days...
You'd be lucky then. Think of all the Dead and Garcia records you'd suddenly have, eh? Lucky man. And I will tell 'em next weekend to tour the Great White North then, shall I?
