TRUST US

I remembered vividly that a friend had lent me I a copy of this 2-CD album back in 1999-2000 and that I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, until recently, I haven't followed up on my first encounter with Motorpsycho even though they had a beautiful vibe to them that appealed immensely to my young inexperienced prog ears. Luckily now that I have an almost unlimited access to discographies of artists through the magical world of steaming media I am once again able to relive this album and its memories. The only difference is that I now have a decade of experience behind me to fill in the blanks that I might have missed out on back in the day.

Motorpsycho seemed to be one of the more prolific rock bands out there, releasing three albums over the course of the last 24 month and a total of 14 studio releases since their debut in 1991. The 1999 release Trust Us was not only the band's seventh full length album but also their second double album, clocking at the 82 minute mark. Unfortunately I'm unable to give any own analysis of how the band's music had evolved up to this particular point but from what I've been reading Motorpsycho took a major leap with the release of their third studio album Timothy's Monster and Trust Us was the next logical step in the band's development.

Spanning over 14 tracks and a total of over 80 minutes, Trust Us might be a tough cookie for anyone wanting a good Motorpsycho introduction album and it did take me personally a few spins, back in the day, to get a grip on just parts of the material incorporated into this album. Listening to it for the last couple of days was a pure pleasure to my experimental music senses and I did in fact recognize most of the material even though it was a long time since my previous visit.

The music on Trust Us is split between different spectrums of the rock music that is incorporated under the Motorpsycho's moniker. May it be the heavy hitting rockers like Psychonaut and Evernine, softer rock music of Ozone and Hey, Jane, the lengthier experimental beauty of The Ocean In Her Eye, Radiance Freq and everything in between.

One thing that really surprises me about this lengthy album is that there are surprisingly few instances that don't work, which is usually a major problem for most albums that reach over the 60 minute mark. Aside from the relatively short Mantrick Muffin Stomp, that feels completely out of context, and a few instances towards the end of the album, the material on Trust Us fits together really well. The three longer tracks are definite show stealers for me where The Ocean In Her Eye sets just the right mood for what is about to happen on Vortex Surfer. Once those 9 minutes start playing I become surrounded by sheer beauty of the performance. There isn't really a way to describe Vortex Surfer any better since this is definitely one of those wonderful pieces that just have to be experienced in order to be believed.

Even though Radiance Freq. follows the same basic pattern of the two previous lengthy pieces it looses a bit of its momentum due to one fatal flaw. The big contrasts between the soft and heavy sections on the track make me have to adjust the volume every time I listen to the track meaning that I get too distracted by the tedious procedure and can never truly enjoy this creative piece of music.

I highly recommend giving Trust Us a go since, judging from my review, there is a lot to be experienced over the course of the album's running time. The material might take a while to get used to but once you're there the album will become one of those gems that you'll want to revisit time and time again.

***** star songs: Vortex Surfer (8:59)

**** star songs: Psychonaut (6:58) Ozone (4:33) The Ocean In Her Eye (9:15) Siddhardtino (1:37) 577 (7:48) Evernine (5:07) Radiance Freq. (10:21) Taifun (7:09) Superstooge (6:48) Coventry Boy (2:32) Hey, Jane (5:14) Dolphyn (1:25)

*** star songs: Mantrick Muffin Stomp (3:50)