WHAT'S THE NAME

The last album of Ixthuluh leaves a mixed impression. Near some krautrock pearls like "Camel Trophy" or "Gefudel For The End" is also found average. Unfortunately, some absolutely strong pieces also suffer from the bad recording quality, like "Sailor's Dream" or "Velvet".

The album, nevertheless, is altogether certainly worth listening, with pieces which one has never heared before. The band shear yourself a mud (again) around hearing habits and with "Hornet In A Bee's Basket" the listener on a bad test is put.

The quiet "Desert Nights" with Adi Nimmerfalls flutes or Werner Katzmair with "Gefudel For The End" show the strenght of the guest's musicians with whom Ixthuluh has appeared gladly and often.

I individually like the nonorthodox and self-willed "Camel Trophy Through Seven Dirty Puddels" in the best. This is Ixthuluh offroad-sound real how it has aroused enthusiasm live mostly.

And "Start Our Fuzzy Dreams", the real opener of the album ("In The Bushes" is, actually, more a percussions gag than a number) - a journey is worth, too. The group there plays off their strengths with plainest stylistic devices.

Nothing for sound purists, but nice for adventurer.

This album is pleasure and imposition together, you sometimes have the impression that the musicians deride the listener. Anyhow they take no consideration and play a music which is once so blandishing and intuitive like " Sailors Dream " or " Desert Nights " and then, again, rumbling, unpolished and even coarse like in " Hornet in a Bees Basket " or " Camel Trophy Through Seven Dirty Puddel " where you must pay attention that you get no dirty ears.You can nowhere buy this record, the real musical adventurer must download it, the group puts the material entirely into the band's website, but the musical explorer should consider my warnings. An explosive mixture of audible and hardly digestible, 3 stars nevertheless, because it is interesting anyway.

Bootleg quality. Recorded with a 2-track tape recorder and cheap microphones. But some totally freaked out songs, far more better than many studio recordings. This isn't Ixthuluhs best album surely, but despite the low-fi-sound quality, it does capture Ixthuluh at a very unusual and crazy phase in their development. I'd recommend this to people who already know Ixthuluh, maybe from the previous Tea At Two. Of course, it's jam music, but this last line-up of Ixthuluh did a job without consideration to your sensitives and brings some compact songs, strange and different. Could be essential, but the sound is awful.

Laying things to rest

"What's the name" was the last album recorded by the enigmatic band "Ixthuluh". Once again, the band's core members bring in the odd guest, and "borrow" instruments to help them in their quest. The tracks were recorded in a single take live, but the recording methods and equipment used (one tape recorder) lead to an unsatisfactory quality of sound.

The music once again consists of the improvisational Krautrock the band favour. We open with a dull percussion solo "In the bushes", which is thank fully sub-titled "Short version"! The album really starts therefore with "Start our fuzzy dreams", a simple guitar riff with mumbled and distorted vocals. "Fewa Blues" is the first chance we get to experience something slightly more refined, the pleasant guitar being supported by some atmospheric keyboards.

There are, perhaps inevitably, some impenetrable indulgences here. "Hornet in a bees basket" is complete nonsense, devoid of anything remotely musical. The keyboards return though for "Synthetic heaven", another pleasantly atmospheric piece with strong bass. "Visit from town" is the hardest track on the album, with an orthodox rock beat and some bluesy feedback guitar.

"Strings" is an unexpectedly delicate run through an acoustic instrumental. The playing is rudimentary, but the overall effect is satisfactory. "Camel trophy through seven dirty puddles" is a more adventurous lead guitar improvisation, which tends to ramble somewhat but at least offers some excitement.

Of the longer tracks, "Sailor's dream" is a 10 minute piece, which is based on ambient keyboard sounds with drifting lead guitar. It is actually a decent performance, marred only by the dubious quality of the recording. The similarly long "Desert nights" features Adi Nimmerfall on flute. The piece continues the relaxed, ambient atmosphere of "Sailor's dream", the flute adding a welcome extra dimension.

While "What's the name" continues to demonstrate Ixthuluh's alarming lack of quality control, both in terms of sound and substance, it is a better album over all than those which preceded it. The laid back atmosphere of a number of the tracks makes for a more accessible and acceptable listen, although it is necessary to skip across some of the more outlandish indulgences.