MOTORPSYCHO

And then there were two: the Psychonauts' two founding members . . . and a bunch of hired hands. The realities of the modern way of making and publishing music has finally dawned on Bent and Hans.

Disc 1 (40:49) 1. "Lucifer, Bringer of Light" (10:49) off to the races we go straight from the first frame--especially with metronomic JAKI LEIBZEIT-like drummer Ingvald Vassbø in the driver's seat. The harmonies on the team vocals are rather weak, even discordant at times. The song's chord structure is fairly straightforward with only a few interesting bridges or instrumental passages. The WHO "Baba O'Riley"-like third minute starts off interestingly but then devolves into a fairly straightforward ALLMAN BROTHERS-like guitar solo--and then slightly more interesting LYNYRD SKYNYRD-like duet/duel. This goes on until the ninth minute when the boys try to come back to a slightly-more sophisticated (and infinitely more interesting) variation on the opening theme for more vocals. (17.5/20) 2. Laird of Heimly (3:54) 3. Stanley (Tonight's the Night) (4:10) 4. The Comeback (4:32) 5. Kip Satie (2:25) 6. Balthazaar" (11:40) bug-buzz-saw playing around until Krautrock motif steps into play at the 0:56 mark (with a bass line that is a variation on the famous "Peter Gunn" riff). The team vocals are okay, melodic and smooth, I just don't know (or care) what they're singing about. Guitar solos with a variety of guitar sounds (one very Allman Brothers-like). Halfway into the song I'm finding the motif to be more annoying than hypnotic, this despite all the different guitar sounds and the addition in the sixth minute of piano chord hits. A turn given to synths for solos in the seventh minute provide a little diversion/relief but then we're right back into the rut for the next vocal section in the eighth minute. Around the eight-minute mark the band shifts a little (mostly drummer Ingvald Vassbø's drum beat and style) and then synthesized guitar takes off for the next solo (with the next sound). The eleventh minute brings us around to the final vocal section while the instrumental parts of the song show signs of cracking and, perhaps, dissolving. No such luck. And then there's the whole travesty of focusing a song about "Balthazaar" much less using the word as the exclusive occupant of the chorus's main lyric, repeated over and over. Sorry guys! This just doesn't live up to the high standards of your tremendous body of work! (17.375/20) 7. Bed of Roses (3:19)

Disc 2 (40:50) 8. Neotzar (The Second Coming)" (21:07) pretty weird and lame for the first 2:40 with piano-like guitar notes backing singer Thea Grant, but then the band kicks in with some decent cruise-drivin' music over which another lame vocal (and equally-lame background vocal) is set. The Mellotron strings work is mismatched and the guitar solos in the mid-section are just okay. At 8:15 there is a break before harp-like "heavenly" music fills a minute and more while, eventually, electric guitar plays a spacious series of mindless notes for another minute or so. In the eleventh minute some chords begin to form from behind, orchestral washes. At 12:15 some ominous and acerbic notes and chords begin amping things up until there is about 90 seconds of almost-UTOPIA/MAHAVISHNU/ZAPPA-like cacophony up to the end of the 14th minute. But then things smooth out and return to the main Motorpsycho highway though a more-subdued electric guitar continues soloing into end of the 15th minute before being rejoined by the other guitarist--who then takes over in the sixteenth. Man! It feels as if these guys have really been chompin' at the bit to have some loose solo time--even some vicious duels. Drummer Ingvald Vassbø really ups the chaos in the seventeenth minute but then things straighten out again for some piano and synth leadership--just before male vocalist steps in with a lame vocal. The final three minutes continue this piano-pounding palette while the guitarists (and vocalists--in the background) speed along toward the 21st minute in which they break it all down into bare-bones guitar and Mellotron note picking to the song's end. Interesting and sometimes exciting--especially if you're just into guitar shredding--but really not a greatly engaging or memorable song. (34.75/40) 9. Core Memory Corrupt (5:38) 10. Three Frightened Monkeys (8:41) 11. Dead of Winter (5:24)

Total Time 81:39

An album that feels like the two have rustled through their closets of old songs that had never made previous albums and dusted a few off for fresh renditions. I can see why most of these had been left in the closet. Even the ones that feel fresh are filled with either too much chaos or too much noodling: not the stuff that have kept me loyal to the cause for over 16 years.

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