Ozric Tentacles - Spirals in Hyperspace
(Magna Carta)
Ed Wynne has been extending his tentacles across the lands for over 20 years now, and while each of this ultimate festival/jam band's more than two dozen releases may reek of a "been there, done that" sameness, imagine how difficult it is to reinvent yourself everytime out, while continuing to make each of those releases sound so natural and effortless. Sure there's the Nintendo electronic sound effects liberally sprinkled around Wynne's fluid fretwork, but the loose arrangements of the title track will appeal to both rock and jazz aficionados, even as it does infringe on New Age histrionics a la Mannheim Steamroller. But there are still enough quirky attributes to fall onto the pseudo-psychedelic side of the fence.
As such, comparisons to Steve Wilson and his Porcupine Tree are not that off the mark. Wynne's solos throughout prove he can still bend a string with the best of them, and his Crimsonesque, Frippertronic runs will still drop a jaw or three, thus earning him a place in my pantheon of "Greatest Guitarists No One Ever Heard Of," whose members also include The Bevis Frond's Nick Saloman and Sun Dial's Gary Ramon.
Overall, it is less Eastern-flavored than recent releases like Waterfall Cities (despite some nice Spanish guitar and North African flourishes on "Psychic Chasm") with more funky, Kraftwerkian electronic beats running throughout. You'll definitely want to put on your dancing shoes for this one. There's a nice proggy Supertramp-meets-Styx-at-a-Rush-concert riff and mammoth, wall-rattling basslines (presumably from longtime bassist, Zia Geelani) at the heart of "Toka Tola," and the snappy "Plasmoid" beckons in the general direction of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" period and may mark the first appearance of vocals (albeit through a vocoder) on an Ozrics album (although there's also some ecstatic yelping on "Oakum). There's plenty of spacey noodling, stereophonic phasing, wind chimes and bells to keep the scruffy incense burners happy. And speaking of pleasant aromas, there's the sweeter-than-patchouli fragrance of Pink Floyd's "Run Run Run" (from The Wall) wafting through "Akasha," which features the classic guitar stylings of Steve Hillage.
So whether your tastes run towards jazz, prog, kraut, or electronic psych, there's something to please everyone on the band's best release in years and another fine addition to an already impressive (and large) discography.
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