Reviewed by Nathan Ford
This is one that I've been intending to write about for some time, but I've held back as there is so little information available online about this "space duo". The thing is though, their album "YACOB II" (is there/ was there a "YACOB I" at some point?) is so lovingly crafted and consistently appealing that it seems a little silly to let an absence of facts prevent me from sharing it with you.
We're told on their Bandcamp page that we're dealing with a duo, and that they're from Japan (or Andromeda depending on sources). Beyond this, the music is left to do the talking, and it does so very nicely indeed.
It's a very Krauty affair, but never seems like it's stuck in the seventies. Opener "Apport" is a lovely cascading keyboard number which could have fit nicely on the Roedelius compilation I reviewed recently. A lovely kosmische vibe. "Waboon" on the other hand is almost Kraut-punk with insistent drum machines, and big, muscular guitar chug ala early eighties Hawkwind. This leaves quite a bit of ground to cover between these two extremes, and the remaining tracks fill "YACOB II" out nicely, via the delicate, post-rock guitar lattices of "Alaveska", the catchy Neu-isms of "Korong", and the spooky, tribal "Dagobah".
It's refreshing to hear an album in this neo-Krautrok vein that offers such diversity. That it does so in such an unassuming fashion, is even more appealing.
Excellent stuff, and well deserving of a physical release should anyone with great taste be in a position to make such a thing happen.
Stream or download here:
No comments:
Post a Comment