BLACK HOLE / BLANK CANVAS

After the impressive jazz and country efforts of In The Fishtank 10 and The International Tussler Society, Motorpsycho would have an unsuspected turn of events as the band's longtime drummer, Håkon Gebhardt, left the band. The rest of the group, Hans and Bent decided to continue on as a duo. Not only that but the two decided to try something new, still continuing the psychedelic rock sounds, but with more of an edge that could be found on their earliest releases of Lobotimizer and Demon Box. The duo wanted to go for a more hard psych approach combining elements of shoegaze, alternative rock, post-punk, and garage rock to create one of their more ambitious efforts, that being Black Hole / Blank Canvas.

Even as a duo, the passion for their sound remains unmatched, as this album gives way to some of the group's best numbers in my opinion. Kill Devil Hills, Devil Dog, Sail On, L.T.E.C., and Hyena to name a few are some of the band's most enjoyable songs they've released, having this very energetic motion that is carried every second along the way. The album's heavy nature really lets these songs reach the same heights that Timothy's Monster and Demon Box gave me with their giant, really gravid songs.

I think Hans' guitar work on this album is really nicely done, just giving out this huge bassy sound that I find myself really loving to sink my teeth into. Not only that, but Bent finally showcasing more punchy jams into these songs is a fantastic need for any classic Motorpsycho fan, and for me who really likes the more heavy psych nature this album exudes. This is the best heavy sound the band has attempted in a long while, and they still manage to make it sound super fresh by combining more garage and prog infused efforts into it.

Guest starring on this record is Jacco van Rooij on drums and Øyvind Brandtsegg on the vibraphone. I think these two do a great job in creating more of an atmosphere and tension within the album, especially Jacco on the drums. While I think Håkon managed to really set the score and dynamic that previous albums exude, Jacco does a fine job in replicating it for this effort, and I think he does a really great job at it. It gets the job done, and what came of it was some really stellar percussion.

Now, I will say though that while these songs are good, I find this to be one of the only "bloated" Motorpsycho records, much in the same vein as Trust Us was. I am fine with hour-long albums, but I think 17 songs is a bit much, especially for this caliber of music. It comes to a point where I feel like, after 13 songs, I kinda want it to wrap up. Not to discredit the band's hard work, but I just never enjoyed the album completely, and it is a real shame since these are some really good songs. I think if the band split the two discs into two separate albums then I think this project would be more beloved for me, but as it stands, it can become a fairly overly ambitious onus to get through.

Another really good effort from Motorpsycho, as expected. This is, what I think, would be the turning point for the band, as 2 years later they'd go skinny dipping into the prog trenches more than they have before, but that is a story for another day. As it stands, while it is a bit zealous to get through, this is another really solid display of musical workings that Motorpsycho delivered in the 21st century.