ARBORESCENCE

Back in 1997, I bought my first OZRIC CDs, that is "Jurassic Shift", and this, their followup. What a great way for Joie and Merv to end their time with the OZRICS (they decided to concentrate full time on EAT STATIC, a more traditional techno outfit they headed for a few years up to that point), this is perhaps one of the OZRICS best albums. Although I thought this CD had a thinner production than their previous, it still doesn't prevent it from being one of their best. The music doesn't meander so much, the guitar is more dominant, but what I really like is Joie's synth work, which is perhaps his most stunning here. The album starts off with "Astral Cortex" which is definately Ed's time to shine on guitar, and the band really rocks here. "Yog-Bar-Og" simply blows me away, because this is a piece where the band goes through several changes, with some truly interesting use of spacy synthesizers. The title track finds the band exploring ambient electronics, which is truly a wonderful and pleasant number. It's one of those pieces that can go on forever and I still can't get enough of it. "Al Salooq", unsurprisingly (given the Arabic name of the song title) has a more Middle Eastern feel to it (given the band often influenced by Middle Eastern styles). "Dance of the Loomi" finds the in one of their more "techno-like" modes, as often they had since "Strangeitude". There's that dance beat, but it's plastered with more cool spacy electronic sounds that I can't get enough (and beware: I don't like techno, but I am never bothered by the OZRICS techno-like excursion because it sounds like a real band playing real instruments). "There's a Planet Here" is much like the title track, but in a more dub/ambient mode (rather than just ambient). While I often complain of digital synthesizers, the digital synths here are just mindblowing and otherworlds. "Shima Koto", as the name might suggests, has a more Japanese feel, with fake electronic sounds that are supposed to sound like a koto.

This was to be the OZRICS last album to receive an American release for five years (because IRS Records was under financial hot water that caused it to go under). Incredible album and it gave me hope for music in the 1990s, an era dominated by rap and alternative rock, as OZRICS harkened back to the best works of such progressive space rock acts as HAWKWIND and GONG, with some modern elements added in. This album convinced me, and if you're an OZRIC fan, get this CD.