PSYCHEDELIC WUNDERBAUM

It seems this one man´s band is quite unknown at least when looking how much albums are rated here in progarchives and how many listens are in spotify. Of course it´s not big surprise because When`s very experimental nature. On the other hand this album goes really near into other nineties alternative electro artists for example Chemical Brothers and Fat Boy Slim, so I think Lars music could have achieved more popularity. But I believe Kristoffer Rygg´s Jester Label where When was signed by making this album, hadn´t got enough resources to promote their artists to international success.

When I start to listen this album after those first really gloomy industrial albums, there comes a big surprise! First: Lars is singing! He has quite soft voice reminding sixties pop bands singers. "Time Ago" is mixture of sixties garage pop and nineties industrial synths, but the latter ones are not in the top. Very sympathetic piece! In "Extremist Cow" direction goes back into earlier When albums, but this noisy song still got very catchy, pop structure! It has very tight, distorted vocals. End of the song has same kind of noisy collage style as in earlier albums. "Snowfish" is some kind of retro rave instrumental piece including violin playing together all kind of synth noises. Not bad, but liked more two first tracks. Instrumental & experimental mood continues in "As-Speak-You-Are", but it´s softer and more melodic than "Snowfish". Sixties garage pop comes back in "Young Feet Flush", although it´s structure is much more experimental than two first pieces. "Kali" is totally sung, really sixties sounding psychedelic pop ballad, that even has sitar! "Channel 7" is short industrial synth piece. So it´s much longer "Footsteps". "The Interpid Traveller" is funny and catchy piece mixing again industrial and pop garage. The last "Track 10" is fully earlier When-style experimental sound collage piece.

I am not sure why I have been interested at When. I am really not nineties electro music fan at all, also I am interested at experimental music in a very narrow part. But this album woke up my interest little bit more when it has influences from sixties psychedelia and garage, so I guess I will listen Lars´s next albums and maybe make reviews here just because they haven´t reviewed here. Really I don´t believe When would have taken into progarchives at all these days, when it seems only "real" prog artists get in here (whatever the real prog is). When really has got nothing to do for example RIO artists like Henry Cow or Samla Mammas Manna. But if you like for example Pram, I believe specially this album is for you!