For a band that's been around close to 30 years, The Tower is surprisingly my first experience with Norwegian heavy prog/psych trio Motorpsycho. This new 2CD opus follows up their popular 2016 release Here Be Monsters, and once again sees Bent Saether (vocals, bass, guitars, Mellotron, keyboards, percussion), Hans Magnus Ryan (vocals, guitars), and new member Tomas Jarmyr (drums) creating all sorts of otherworldly musical explorations that almost defy categorization. Like adventurous space rock ala Hawkwind? Look no further than the wild "Bartok of the Universe". How about intense prog in the style of King Crimson? Check out the raging "Intrepid Explorer". Lots of hooks to be found here too, as the band crank out some catchy melodies along with heavy prog rock on the can't miss title track.
These guys can get pretty crunchy when they want to as well, such as the lumbering Opeth-like stomp of "In Every Dream Home", but it's the epic prog statements such as "A Pacific Sonata" and "Ship of Fools" that are the real standouts here. Sweeping Pink Floyd influenced soundscapes punctuated by gorgeous acoustic & electric guitars, layers of vocals, and dreamy atmosphere slowly build towards Yes-like intricacy on the first, while the latter is near 15-minutes of symphonic prog and biting psych. "The Cuckoo" features glorious Mellotron waves and heavy rock riffs, a perfect marriage of retro hard rock and prog.All told, there's a lot of music to sink your teeth into here on Motorpsyco's latest release from Stick Man Records, and I'll for sure be exploring more of their work in the very near future.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
CD1
1) The Tower
2) Bartok of the Universe
3) A.S.F.E.
4) Intrepid Explorer
5) Stardust
6) In Every Dream Home
CD2
1) The Maypole
2) A Pacific Sonata
3) The Cuckoo
4) Ship of Fools
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