ROADWORK VOL. 2 - THE MOTORSOURCEMASSACRE - MOTORPSYCHO, THE SOURCE & DEATHPROD LIVE AT KONGSBERG JAZZFESTIVAL 1995

While I think most Motorpsycho releases are really excellent pieces of music, not every one of them can be homerunners, that much is shown with Begynnelser, but I still think there can be at least something to enjoy, even in the band's least savory. However, their second Roadworks album is one that I actively do not like whatsoever.

Unlike Roadworks Vol. 1, Volume 2 is a collaborative piece with jazz band The Source, and drone and noise artist Deathprod. Now, this would be a neat collaborative live album, really, if it wasn't for the execution of this collab concert being this stupidly messy noisefest.

There are definitely still some redeeming qualities, not all albums are utterly dog water (though there are those unlucky few'), for example, I do like the tracks of The Wheel, Dreams, and The Golden Core and how jazz was infused with them with slight hints of noise. It definitely gives way too a unique outlook on those same songs' charms, especially in regards to The Golden Core's moody jazz twiddling.

However, that is practically all the good things I have to say about this album, because to me this album is a noisy, unfiltered mess.

Now I am not a noise guy, I never liked artists like Merzbow, and while I can definitely find some joy in noise rock, mostly due to my love of Unwound, I just cannot get into it most of the time. The loud bursts of noise and static throughout most of the songs in tandem to the spiraling insanity of jazz and psych rock can definitely make for a fun and interesting time if done correctly, but I find what Motorpsycho, The Source, and Deathprod goes with here is either too much or too little in terms of enjoyability. Too much with the loud ringing pings on Grindstone and the stupidly avant garde jazz of Na, and too little with the lackluster noise and drones of Finske Skoger and the lame twiddles and patience of Limbo. If your album has 8 songs and is an hour plus long, and you only have 3 truly good songs, then that's pretty bad.

I suggest skipping this one, unless you are a diehard noise fan. All you are gonna get out of this one is a mess. I say only listen to The Wheel, Dreams, and The Golden Core, which are songs that show this combo of noise, psych rock, and jazz much better than the rest of the 5 tracks can possibly achieve. The MotorSourceMassacre truly is a massacre, a car crash in musical form.