High Castle Teleorkestra: The Egg That Never Opened

High Castle Teleorkestra is a (remotely assembled) multi-national collective of musicians who are part of or have played with Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3, Mr. Bungle, Umlaut, Farmers Market, and more. The lineup for this unique and eclectic ensemble is Tim Smolens on bass, keyboards and vocals, Chris Bogen on guitars and synths, Bär McKinnon on horns, keyboards and vocals, Dave Murray on drums and percussion, Stian Carstensen on accordions and steel guitar, and Timba Harris on various strings.

The music that this band makes is very difficult to describe, besides the Avant-Garde influences everywhere and the eclecticism of all its parts, these guys will transport the listener through a poli genre trip where almost everything can be heard, extreme and technical metal, symphonic prog, Eastern European Folk, Jazz, Flamenco, circus-like music, Tarantella, playful vocal harmonies (similar to Moon Safari in a way), and much more… talking about melting pot? This album is an example of what talented and multi influenced musicians are putting out nowadays, so complex and varied that it becomes confusing. Imagine driving the car and tunning to a radio station, scrolling down the dial, and zapping 10-12secs of each song on every station… then you get The Egg That Never Opened, truly an experience only fully understandable if listened to.

An intense but somehow catchy experience, just too “all around the place� for my taste. The talent is unquestionable, as is the creativity and virtuosity of everyone, especially of the two main guys in the band, Smolens and Bogens, but the ride is an energy-draining one, I basically ended up exhausted after the first listen and is not even 50 minutes long, that’s how many details and how complex is the musical proposal.

Anyways, I’m pretty sure the album should appeal to lovers of complex and challenging music with both knowledge of classical and more modern genres and sub genres because it has them all!

Track Listing:

1. The Egg That Never Opened (5:16)
2. Ich Bin’s (3:40)
3. The Aramchek Accusation (3:25)
4. Valisystem A (5:08)
5. At Last He Will (5:41)
6. The Days of Blue Jeans Were Gone (4:07)
7. Diagnosing Johnny (7:55)
8. Placentia (3:55)
9. Klawpeels (Mission Checkup) (3:34)
10. Mutual Hazard (5:43)

Added: July 3rd 2022
Reviewer: Jose Antonio Marmol
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 657
Language: english

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