THE UNNAMABLES

There will always, I suppose, lie a grave danger in taking a different path from the one you started from. Especially this is true when the expedition grew from the most daring and revolutionary form of music known to man. Magma is certainly one of those bands that ripped all convention apart by creating a genre so daring and non-conformist as zeuhl.

So, after doing that and in the making of all this magnificent music of zeuhl one can't help but thinking that Vander and crew grew weary after a while and decided to do something a little more accessible. Thus Univeria Zekt came into being. At least that is what I imagine.

Unlike Magma Univeria Zekt plays a decicedly more accessible kind of music with an generous slice of jazz on top. Actually, I find this album to be more of a jazzy affair than anything I have heard from Magma and that says alot, bearing in mind the obvious inclusion of jazz into said band's sound. In parts this is an old school jazz affair laced with elements of zeuhl and rock music. The result is one of very jazzy rock with avant garde leanings. To me it is very enjoyable and lovely indeed. I like Magma alot but that does not mean I think that this album is anything like "selling out". I would not compare to Magma, rather I would like to compare it to other jazz rock albums of the era and as such it holds up extremely well.

From the opening organ of "You speak and you speak Colegram" to the ending ballad of "Ündia" it holds together very well. I love the energy of "Altcheringa", the beauty of "Clementine", the overly jazzy horns of "Something's cast a spell", the late night drums and piano of "Ourania" and the powerful epic of "Africa anteria".

I urge to you to not compare this album to Magma. Listen to it for the album it is. If you do you will find an amazingly tight and cohesive album of jazz-rock, every bit as highly charged and engaging, thrilling and daring as the greats of the genre.