ASTONISHING TALES OF COD AND PLANKTON

This 2021 album is the ninth since the debut of this Norwegian band in 1997, and it is somewhat accurate to say they do not take themselves at all seriously. I note on PA they are listed with their real names, which seems somewhat boring, so here is the line-up according to the CD, Shabe Fack (drums, guitar, vocals), Eric the Awful (bass), Pornographic Johnson (lead and backing vocals), Hebbe Santos (lead and backing vocals), Bödd Lindfors (flute, backing vocals), Black-Metal Ekker (violin, vocals), Lord Lusk (keyboards, vocals), and Cunt Basie (trombone, vocals). They are marked on PA as being eclectic and part of me does agree with that, but I am guessing there was a fight between them and folk as to which genre these guys fit into.

They have given themselves weird pseudonyms, they have a crazy band name, the album title is bonkers and the lyrics are insane, which of course means only one thing. Yes, I love this, as all the craziness is only masking an incredibly complex band who are mixing together styles and somehow having them all make total sense. These guys are all masters of their instruments and are weaving together threads of musical insanity so the listener has no idea where the music is going to lead. This is prog in its truest sense, I mean how many use a trombone without reverting into jazz at some point? The majority of these guys were there at the very beginning more than 20 years ago which means they know exactly where they fit in to the maelstrom and this clarity allows them to go off at tangents knowing there will aways be room for them to come back in. Not everyone is playing or singing at the same time, although that does happen, so not only do we not know where the music is leading we do not know how we are going to get there. I must admit I did also find it funny they have a song here called "Still... You Turn Me Off".

If I had seen this album in a CD rack somewhere I would have passed smartly by, but now I have heard it I can only wonder what the others are like as this is a delight from beginning to end. This is progressive music which is heavily regressive in some areas and massively experimental in others, driving forward and creating something which is incredibly exciting and well worth discovering.