FROM THE GREAT BEYOND

There are times when one is sent an album, after it is played the only reaction is "how on earth am I going to describe that?". The Grand Astoria are a Russian band who describe their music as "Psychedelic jam rock having sex with heavy metal". Not too sure about the sex or metal, but add in blues, punk, Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, 90's neo-prog with 70's King Crimson and VDGG plus a warped sense of humour then you might just get close. Looking at their Bandcamp page reveals more than 30 releases, the vast majority of which are full albums, so these guys are nothing if not prolific, and they have released another studio album since this one came out in 2020.

There is an energy and enthusiasm in this which is infectious, and unlike many releases on this label, many of the lyrics are in English which makes it more approachable for some (the language never bothers me). At times they sound like they are going to Americana with picked guitar but then they shoot off at tangents so one never knows what they are going to do next. Musically they seem to have no boundaries whatsoever, yet whatever they are segueing into or blending together somehow makes sense and the result is adventurous and quite unlike other bands in the scene. Some groups tend to take one band as a starting point and then move from there, but I have no idea where these guys are coming from as it is such a mixed midden of sound. Dirty and distorted in some places, clean and airy in others, this is eclectic yet somehow more mainstream than one might imagine.

With such a huge back catalogue they can be quite a daunting prospect to investigate but why not start with this one and then go from there. Progheads will find much in here to enjoy.

The Grand Astoria considers their latest release to be an EP. Normally, I'm respectful of bands' classifications of their releases, even if they're much longer than the usual length of an EP. For example, the 60-minute Tulimyrsky from Moonsorrow is absolutely an EP, with its weirdly scattershot collection of covers and re-recordings. This 33-minute release, though, feels cohesive enough to be a short album, which is why I've placed it here, and not on my Top EPs list. Addressing the substance of this release, it's a stellar slab of space-psych suffused with stoner spirit. Folky acoustic guitars and banjo mesh effortlessly with the astral atmosphere of the title track, and the 10-minute "Njanatiloka" showcases the band's strength at blending stoner metal with complex prog riffs and arrangements. This might be the band's most explicitly spacey release yet, and it's an angle which suits them well.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2021/01/14/top-50-prog-albums-of-2020-part-2-25-1/