Not heavy guitar riffs or swelling drums are opening the new Motorpsycho record, but a single piano is playing a quiet melody. It's characteristic for Here Be Monsters, the new addition to the imposing catalogue of the Norwegians, since the seven tracks can be found in the quiet part of their broad spectrum. The band's creative brains are regularly visiting symphonic rock or sparkling jazzy prog rock explosions and anything that can be found in between. This time however the men are looking for more peace and concentrate on melodious rock songs, referring to the sixties of Pink Floyd.
Those sixties are most obvious in the H.P. Lovecraft cover 'Spin, Spin, Spin'. The record found its roots in November 2014 when the band played a concert for the Teknisk Museum's anniversary in Norway. They worked together with Ståle Storløkken, who also cooperated on The Death Defying Unicorn, but this time he was unable to help them rework the arrangements into an album. Of course this wasn't much of a problem for the three experienced musicians who recorded a wonderful LP once again.
'Lacuna Sunrise' is a beautiful song with a refined guitar and a typical hypnotic Motorpsycho middle part. 'I.M.S.', short for "inner mountain shame", starts with a lush piano and then completely opens up when quiet parts alternate with fierce parts. The core of the record is at the end with the dazzling 'Big Black Dog', that tells about the endless dark nights in the cold North in winter. The song, which lasts more than fifteen minutes, has numerous twists with screaking guitars and enchanting moments where the hypnotic drones appear to be endless. These moments are wonderful, mastered to perfection by the band and which make them so unique.
On Here Be Monsters it seems Motorpsycho has returned to their sound in the nineties after many different adventures. Patiently they are crafting attractive and impressive songs. For years now the band seems to have arrived at a level where they can get anything done. Whether it's experimenting, stretching creative boundaries or deepening their sound, it always results in something beautiful. That puts them in an luxurious and enviable position.
This review has been published on Festivalinfo in Dutch over here.
Listen to 'Here Be Monsters' on Spotify.
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