BRAINTICKET (COTTONWOODHILL) + PSYCHONAUT

I knew nothing about this Swiss band when I borrowed this CD (available in Helsinki area) featuring their first and second albums. The leaflet had absolutely no info at all, just the original album covers. The music, as I learned by listening, is trippy, psychedelic, organ-led Krautrock with some female vocals. The debut is said to be one of the trippiest albums ever. Yeah, surely there's truth in it. It appeared to me a bit too unfocused and unstructured to really stand repeated listenings. The 13-minute final track goes pretty wild with the female voice - not singing but speaking and gradually being excited to orgastic frenzy. But overall the track is too long. The album has its intriguing moments but somehow fails to make a strong impression musically.

The follower is much better. Less trippy, more focused and also calmer and more delicate. Organ is still strongly present but also flute comes out nicely, and if I remember correctly (I haven't yet memorized the music well), many tracks have an acoustic atmosphere. The absence of information is regrettable especially with an unknown and obscure band like this, but the inclusion of two complete albums in a single disc is always a good thing. Definitely worth checking out for friends of psychedelic, vocal-included Krautrock.