ROADWORK VOL. 4 - INTREPID SKRONK

Well, this is the 4th installment in the ever-expanding live-series Roadwork by Motorpsycho. Where the three previous ones were rather diverse and ecclectic (Vol.1 selected highlights from the 1998 tour, Vol.2 one concert from 1995 and Vol.3 selections from one concert in 2002), this one focuses on long freakouts and radical re-interpretations from the Kapstad-era 2008-2010.

The Bomb-Proof Roll & Beyond has grown from the 6 minutes on Heavy Metal Fruit (2010) to a 20 minute+ psychedelic monster. Divided into 5 parts, the track now goes seamlessly from quiet subduet mellotron/moog taurus oriented jamming to more prog/fusion-ish stuff (one of the parts is actually called "Oops, Fusion..."). To me this just obliterates the studio-version completely (even though I liked the shoegazey sound on that one)

All Is Loneliness is an old Moondog-cover. The original 5 minute version on Demon Box (1993) was based on Janis Joplin/Big Brother & The Holding Company's cover-version. This 18 minute version is a brand new song; extended with lotsa wild jamming, more mellotrons/moog taurus and an outro jam that seems to segue into Cornucopia (but unfortunately doesn't) Gotta love Bent's bass-playing on here: No coincidence that his playing got nicknamed "Tractor Bass" :D

Wishing Well was an acoustic B-side on the Starmelt EP from 1997. Now the energy-level has been cranked up, to say the least. The mid-jam here is simply beautiful; Snah's beautiful guitar-playing coupled with some lovely mellotron (Kapstad uses a midi drum pad to produce these lovely sounds, all while playing the drums) builds to a nice climax at the end. For me, the biggest positive surprise on here!

Landslide is another re-interpretation. Being a heavily orchestrated pop-song alà Arthur Lee/Love on the album Phanerothyme (2001), it has become way more jazzy and laidback on here. A nice breather inbetween the more heavier stuff, it builds to a nice mini-climax near the end. I've always had a soft spot for Phanerothyme, so the inclusion of this one is very welcome!

Kill Devil Hills is back to energy-land. Originally from Black Hole/Blank Canvas (2006), this version isn't all that different from the original. Except that it's noisier. This one has become a live-favorite, as it's being played quite frequent. And why not? Even though it is very Sonic Youth-inspired (quite an understatement!), it usually gets the crowd going. But on here, it's probably the weakest track. However, it segues directly into...

The Alchemyst from the 2008 album Little Lucid Moments ends the album on a very climactic note. Great track, and on this one they decide to pull all the stops and turn everything into a huge wall of sound. The climax is just too good, but the wall of sound at the end doesn't translate all that well on record; it has to be experienced live!

Overall, a downright awesome album that shows that Kapstad's introduction in the drummer's chair provided Motorpsycho with more energy and a new approach to playing. If you enjoyed the previous studio-albums, and you have a soft spot for heavy stoner psychedelia, chances are good you'll enjoy this album. I give it 4 stars (the last star disappeared because of a rather average Kill Devil Hills and some downright embarrassing Auto-tuning)

Strange how this is technically the third live album Motorpsycho released since it came out after Roadwork Vol 2, but even then this would be more technically also considered to be their fourth due to Roadwork Vol 3 being performed before this one. Either way, it is another output in the wide sea of Motorpsycho releases.

This live release was recorded between 2008 and 2010, which was when Little Lucid Moments, Child of the Future, and Heavy Metal Fruit were coming out, so expect this album to be in their more golden age of jammy prog songs.

In my honest opinion there isn't quite much to talk about that probably hasn't been said already surrounding Motorpsycho live albums. It has a good, even great selection of songs in my opinion, especially Kill Devil Hills, and the songs played here are played well, but I wouldn't really call this anything stellar.

Sure there are the two big jams that expanded upon two rather shorter songs in the band's catalog, but besides that the rest of the album, while still good, doesn't quite wow or excite me.

It certainly does have that fun Motorpsycho charm, but nothing really pops out in my ears when listening to this. Certainly not a bad, nor just an ok record, but definitely not one I would call stellar. It certainly gets the job done with its long jams and very fun tracks, but I think it all doesn't quite hold a candle to their studio works, especially around this time.

A short review, yes, but I do not have much to talk about other than the fact that this album is good, but not great.