Sonic Space: Ozric Space By Matt Howarth Special to SPACE.com posted: 02:39 pm ET 12 April 2000
SONIC SPACE 2
If you were thinking of
the most incredible guitar-ruled space rock imaginable, then you're already
familiar with Ozric Tentacles.
Imagine a band that equally
appeals to space-heads, fusion freaks, grungers, and heavy metalloids.
Imagine guitars that sear and sparkle with such brilliance that the music
is literally blinding. Imagine melodies that fuse the concept of trance
with a sense of increasing power.
Long a standard fixture in
the Glastonbury and Stonehenge concert scene in England, this psychedelic
instrumental rock band have garnered quite an international following for
their powerhouse music.
(You're going to want more
information on this wondrous band. Interested parties are directed to check
out the Ozric website.
There, you will discover a list of places to find their releases, many
of which can also be found in most decent music stores.)
Intricate guitar riffs are
an instant attention grabber -- something the Ozric's music excels in.
Spacey guitars twirl in a sky that twinkles with smooth electronics and
vibrates with driving drumming. Very trancey, isn't it?
Then the music explodes with
unbridled sonic power and passion. The guitar soars with a sparkling trail
of bubbling synthesizers and chilling flutes. The bass thunders beneath
the pyrotechnics. The music is building, expanding into a shimmering, glorious
nebula of searing intensity. When the tunes reach a crescendo, they do
not stop, but continue on, discovering further heights of ecstasy.
This 56-minute CD sports
a dynamite dose of energetic melodies.
Dreamy electronics surge
forth, backed by commanding drums and sinuous basslines. Then the guitars
come thundering in, shimmering and crystalline. Ethereal flute floats through
the music. Immediately the music has gripped your attention and refuses
to let it go. The interplay of drifting electronics and overt guitar are
unlike anything you've heard ... a blend of soft and hard that is a new
genre unto itself.
And the music -- the unbelievably
epic melodies, constantly urging to greater heights and more intense plateaus.
Peak after peak rushes past you, stunning you with their breathtaking riff-fulfillment.
Exhausted but entranced,
you want more. The 74 minutes on this CD are not enough.
One of the things that instantly
stands out with Ozric Tentacles' music is their devotion to ascendant melodies,
building towards intense crescendos that refresh the spirit.
This is space music of the
liveliest sort, rich with tasty rhythms and satisfying guitar pyrotechnics.
It is ceaselessly amazing how each song is so brimming with elaboration
on the melody, delivering surprise progressions in rapid succession. The
tunes wobble and careen about the room, urgent with their content, smirking
with their appeal.
Once again, 47 minutes is
too short, leaving you with a passionate desire for more.
OZRIC TENTACLES: Underslunky
(CD on Dovetail Records -- no internet presence).
Live Ozric music? 73 minutes
of it? Oh, ecstasy is lurking here, you just know it.
Suddenly, you realize how
few recording tricks were used in the previous Ozric albums. The band is
capable of duplicating their lush and frantic sound as brilliantly live
as in the studio -- perhaps even better! The energy of live performance
injects an increased power to the tunes, reaching even loftier heights.
Better hold your breath in these stratospheric regions.
Guitar riffs intertwine,
urged along by bubbling synthesizers and driving percussion. This is music
you find impossible to ignore, but in a most satisfying manner. The tunes
are inspiring, elevating and highly danceable.
Isn't it amazing how you
simply cannot grow bored with more Ozric music? How refreshing it is to
find a band who produce tunes that sparkle and glimmer with such ingenious
melodies and stunning musicianship.
How many more glorious pinnacles
will the Ozrics achieve on this 53 minute CD? Time enough to count them
later. For now, relax and allow the charged guitars to tingle through your
limbs. Feel the lively electronics nibble at your fingertips. Notice the
driving percussion that motivates your feet to tribal activity. Dazzle
at the intricate riffs that cavort in your ears.
Is there no end to the satisfaction
this band can produce?
Just when you thought you
knew what to expect, the Ozrics discover another plateau of sound to mystify
and thrill your ears.
The elements are the same
on this 49 minute release: the guitars still blaze like suns going nova,
the drums still throb, the synths still twinkle, the bass still tickles
your gut. But there's an acceleration to the music, a frantic tenacity
that is actually more determined than the Ozric's previous sustained nirvana.
The intensity has been stepped up, so that the tunes explode with passion
and astral grandeur.
Great Ghedengi -- will the
sonic genius never cease? How many more times can the Ozrics get better?
This time, there's a fusion
jazz influence in the music, streamlining the scalding guitar and transforming
the sweeping keyboards into pronounced dominance. The percussion is literally
snappier with a more experimental method of pounding tempos that bring
a cheerful smile to your lips.
Where prior Ozric music possessed
a constant power level, the music on this 55-minute CD displays a balanced
restraint, giving smooth atmospheric passages a chance to lull you before
the melodies burst into pep-mode.
These refinements of an already
incredible sound might start to become tedious if the results weren't so
astounding.
Sultry is the mood now. Although
still quite energetic, the music has evolved into a thicker mix of dreaminess.
The guitars flash with dazzle. The drumming crashes with cosmic style.
The electronics spill like luscious jeweled water through these power-elements,
filling the cracks with amazing enhancement. With the band's compositional
abilities in excellent form, this 46-minute CD shines with memorable tuneage.
More brilliance, more sinuously
astral rhythms, more scalding guitarwork, more cascading electronics, more
clever percussives, more power rock fused with dreamy trance, more delicate
interplay of sparkling riffs, more strong melodies, more breathtaking space
music, more inspired crescendos, more of everything Ozric. 57 more minutes
of it all.
You still want more, don't
you? Well, there's a series of early cassettes that were collected together
in the "Vitamin Enhanced" six-CD box set, then released as individual CDs:
"The Bits Between the Bits", "Erpsongs", "Live Ethereal Cereal", "Sliding
Gliding Worlds", "Tantric Obstacles" and "There Is Nothing" (box set and
individual CD releases on Dovetail Records). All of which are superb --
by now, you've realized that there literally is no such thing as a boring
Ozric Tentacle release.
"Afterswish" is a double
CD (on Snapper Music) that features a selection of material from these
six CDs, including three otherwise unreleased tracks. There's also "Spice
Doubt" (on Streaming/Cyberphonic Enterprises), a recent live CD released
in a special limited edition deluxe package -- the jewel case has a layer
of oil and water sealed into it, in which cavort small plastic fish.
More? Well, there's "Floating
Seeds Remixed" (CD on Snapper Music). This millennial release sports 66
minutes of wild versions of Ozric classics remixed by System 7, Youth,
Eat Static, Will White (from Propellerheads), and more.
What do you think? Send your
comments to the editor.
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