BONDAGE FRUIT VII

The Tokyo based BONDAGE FRUIT has been around since as far back as 1990 and was one of Japan's first foray's into the world of French zeuhl courtesy of the mighty Magma however this band has offered a far more eclectic palette than most bands that fall under the zeuhl banner by offering healthy doses avant-prog, jazz-fusion, standard prog rock and folk in the spirit of not only classic Magma but also that of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Univers Zero and fellow Japanese outfit Happy Family who emerged at about the same timeline only slightly sooner.

Everyone's favorite S&M produce at the supermarket released the self-titled debut in 1994 and was very consistent in releasing a new studio album every two or three years but after the release of "Bondage Fruit VI" in 2005, the band fell silent and has remained incognito for almost two decades. Well that silence has been broken and in 2024, BONDAGE FRUIT finally release its sixth official studio album titled BONDAGE FRUIT VII. After 19 years since the last release and 35 years as a band, it's amazing that the current lineup features five original members which includes Kido Natsuki (guitar), Katsui Yuji (violin), Ohtsubo Hirohiko (bass), Takara Kumiko (vibraphone, percussion) and Okabe Youichi (percussion, trap drum).

This new album features eight tracks and clocks in at a lengthy 61 1/2 minutes. Noticeably de-emphasized are the zeuhl characteristics of the past and instead the band focuses on a stellar mix of avant-prog and jazz-fusion and in that regard it's pretty much a continuation of 2005's "Bondage Fruit VI" which began to move away from the Magma influences and steer into the world of Pierre Moerlen's Gong meets the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The music is mostly improvised and almost exclusively instrumental with only a couple jazz vocalists offering some vocal prowess as extra instrumentation. The jazzy touches are complemented by guitar oriented rock guitar which not only provides select power chords but also some funk heft and a few scale runs here and there.

While sounding somewhat familiar at this point BONDAGE FRUIT is far from its origins and actually sounds to my ears like many of the Kraut-jazz bands from Germany after the initial psychedelic lysergia of the early Krautrock scene had played itself out. Think Embryo, Xhol Caravan, Eiliff and even Out of Focus and it's in the right ballpark. There are also Middle Eastern moments such as on "Caminante" which offers an interesting mix of Agitation Free's "Malesch" meets the Mahavishnus. The vibraphone works overtime on this release which adds an incredible warm fuzzy feel to it. While the album hums along at mid-tempo with attention paid to improv jazz and rock workouts, the near 14-minute "Cypress" is a nice little chill pill with a lengthy mesmerizing vibraphone dominated atmospheric track only punctuated by a feisty guitar towards the end. After the upbeat "Happy Bastard," the lengthy bonus track "Three Voices" also features a nice chill out moment mixed with more upbeat rock.

Personally i prefer the earliest BONDAGE FRUIT albums for their sheer audacity and experimental limitlessness and i doubt the band will ever top the masterpiece "Bondage Fruit II" however this newest style that the band carries on from the 2005 release is quite effective in its own right. The entire album is a pleasant mix of various jazz related and prog related influences and performed quite well. Yet another band to emerge from "what ever happened to" vaults, BONDAGE FRUIT is back for the attack leaving us to wonder if we'll have to wait another decade or two for the next chapter. Whatever the case, BONDAGE FRUIT VII will help fans get their fix for a little while longer. Nice album that delivers a consistent pleasant upbeat mood for the album's entirety.