MAIDEN VOYAGE

"Maiden Voyage" is the debut demo release by Norwegian hard rock act Motorpsycho. It was released through Knallsyndikatet on cassette tape, limited to 100 numbered copies. The band have titled side 1 of the tape "Motor" and side 2 "Psycho". There are two tracks on each side of the tape. The two tracks on side "Motor" were recorded at UFFA in Trondheim between the 2nd and the 6th of January 1990. "How Was I to Know", which is the first track on side "Psycho", was recorded live in April 1990 and "Blueberry Daydream" was recorded at Studentradion in Trondheim in June 1990. The latter was later re-recorded for the "Another Ugly EP (1994)".

The music on the demo are predominantly raw and energetic hard rock. "Blueberry Daydream" shows a more mellow and semi-folky acoustic side of the band though. The band appear to be influenced greatly by acts like Nirvana and Soundgarden (the early releases by those acts). The sound quality, both on the studio tracks and on the live track, are raw and pretty much what you'd expect from a demo release from those days. There's a certain charm to the proceedings though and the raw sound production isn't much of an issue.

It's obvious that "Maiden Voyage" is a rather immature release and that the band still needed more time to find an identity (and a bit more practice on their instruments), but when that is said, the demo is actually both charming and enjoyable and I'd say a 2.5 star (50%) rating is fair.