COSMOS INSIDE

Oh, there's something puzzling ... I mean the band name first of all. No, this quartet is not from Poland either, nor did they record their stuff at a Warsaw radio station or so. In fact the studio is situated in Ekaterinburg respectively Yekaterinburg, a Russian city lying on the border of Europe and Asia, summarizing a population of nearly one and a half million people. Those four young chaps named Dmitry, Alexander, Andrei and Feodor started to make music with more of an uneven result at first, just manifested in several self-released single and EP productions.

Anyhow, between May and August 2013 they could record the songs for this album 'Cosmos Inside', surely matured in sound and composition, clearly psychedelic oriented, early Pink Floyd/Syd Barret inspired prog and psychedelia. The new tracks went on to their bandcamp page immediately, but sooner or later Trail Records managers Vlad and Alexander - as they still have proper connections to the music scene of the Russian Federation - succeeded to pick up this affair in order to add the album to their well-assorted label collection.

Well, what should I say, the songs are just worth a listen, simple as that. They are starting with the The Final Mantra and a repetitive kraut flair, yeah, just mantra like as the title correctly implies. The Fractalized Sky comes next - proto prog psychedelia in the vein of the Yardbirds maybe, however outfitted with a more jamming approach too, which finally makes sure, that the songs also differ from being totally retro. Sitar and tampura are serving a strong raga sentiment then on Time-Eternity - also equppied with some nice organ patterns.

At the latest the dub drenched Morosim points to the obvious fact that we're listening to an entertaining well-thought-out song collection here. And of course you won't miss some early Pink Floyd leant stuff like To The Delta Of Aquarius ... or especially the album's title song as the ultimate highlight. Tribal drums and a compelling organ are starting the fire, they soon change into another groove then spiked with competing quirky synths and soaring guitar impressions - just more of an improv jewel I'd say, where they let things slide with excellence.

As for that 'Cosmos Inside' marks an advisable starting shot for sure, which a psychedelic music fan should not miss. As quite typical for the early years in particular, vocals are slightly distorted all the way through. And there's a decent raga flair to state due to guest player Stepan Jee on sitar and regular member Alexander Naumov while acting with the electric tampura. Finally there's something I should not forget to recommend - just take the chance to try out the samples offered on the Trail Records website, alternatively by their bandcamp page.