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Mojo has written nicely about Motorpsycho earlier as well. Their albums regularly get good/great reviews, and in their review of the Øya festival in 2006, Mojo labeled Motorpsycho "Europe's best kept secret" (or something similar).
But yes, a very cool introduction.
From MOJO's introduction to the CD:
Taking their name from a 1965 movie by Russ Meyer, the godfather of US sexploitation, Trondheim outfit Motorpsycho have made some of the most inspired, progressive records on the planet in the past 25 years. Their latest, Here Be Monsters, is no exception, and features this Mellotron-soaked tune. Inspired by near-namesake Sabbath song Laguna Sunrise, interwoven guitar leads you to the ehart of track with its sense of Californian warmth. Bask in it.
There's also an Elephant 9 track on the CD, "Dodovoodoo"
The convergence between jazz and prog rock scenes was arguably more evident when Sabbath emerged than it is today. Yet that spirit lives on in Norway, home to the remarkable Rune Grammfon label to whom Elephant 9 are signed (as are fellow adventurers Motorpsycho). Formed a decade ago in Oslo, here the three-piece delivers a pernicious organ-blaster redolent of Purple's free-form moments. We challenge tou not to get down!
The Gramster: Splendid that Hogwash is included. I misread ThorEgil's post above, about track listing on two CDs.
I attended the show at Rockefeller in March 1997, and remember it as an excellent evening. I wrote a report for the un-off afterwards, and back then I felt that half an hour with Deathprod was more than enough. If I remember correctly, he was joined by Ole Henrik Moe and one or two others.
The only song from the show not included on the upcoming AADAP-box is Hogwash.
@thoregil: We are all museum exhibits, and some of us even work at a museum. Well, one of us, anyway.
Bergens Tidende: 4/6 (cut and pasted here; it's behind a paywall)
Mønsterbruket Motorpsycho
Ingen mestrer mektige riff og stødig seigpirring som Motorpsycho. Spørsmålet er om de fremdeles kan lage poplåter.
4/6
Her finnes monster, sier platetittelen. Jo da, det er mulig det, men først og fremst finnes det et mønster. Gjennom 25 år som plateartister er Motorpsycho blitt mestere i å variere over samme oppskrift: Tung, seig rock med melodisk tilsnitt og store instrumentale muskler, ispedd roligere pustepauser.
I sin nærmest vitenskapelige eksperimentering med dette utgangspunktet har bandet prøvd ut utallige kombinasjoner av noen faste elementer: Langsomme oppbygninger, kontrastering mellom hardt og lett, veksling fra raskt til rolig, klimprende introer og hamrende avslutninger, hviskende vokal og brautende brøl.
Hver gang man skulle tro formelen var uttømt, kommer de opp med enda et friskt riff, en feiende overgang, et frittflygende refreng og et forrykende uvær av et soloparti. For blodfansen føles det nok like forløsende hver gang, for andre kan det bli vel forutsigbart.
Misforstå ikke, hvis det er ett band her i landet som alltid har lagt vekt på å utfordre seg selv, så er det trønderne. Rundt årtusenskiftet tok de konsekvensen av egne melodiferdigheter og lagde noen suverent fengende poplåter, samtidig som arrangementene med stort hell ble bygget ut med strykere, blåsere og alt mulig annet som hardrockere vanligvis bør styre unna.
Etter at Håkon Gebhardt ga seg bak slagverket, tok bassist Bent Sæther opp trommestikkene, mens han og gitarist Hans Ryan lette etter en ny makker. Med energiske Kenneth Kapstad om bord, beveget bandet seg mer mot det progressive og langstrukne. De leflet med bestillingsverk og rockeoperaer, og trakk inn flinke folk som Reine Fiske og Ståle Storløkken. Resultatet ble mektig musikk og suverene konsertopplevelser, men underveis ble dessverre poplåtene borte.
Bandets nittende studioalbum, om jeg har talt riktig, er typisk: Materialet var opprinnelig laget for hundreårsmarkeringen til Teknisk Museum. De syv sporene består av én god coverlåt, én grei instrumental, to pianosnutter, to tøffe rockelåter og ett episk monster.
Sistnevnte, 18 minutter lange «Big Black Dog», tåler sammenligning med de fleste lange låtene bandet har gitt ut. Spranget fra den andre halvdelen av «Timothy’s Monster» (1994) til «Here Be Monsters» merkes mest på at bandet er blitt dyktigere til å spille og mer nyansert i uttrykket. På «Big Black Dog» begynner det med fire minutter pen, fredfull gitarklimpring og tilnærmet Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-sang, før det første rockegiret settes inn. De neste åtte minuttene er en oppvisning i seige fuzzriff, hamrende trommer og majestetiske synthlinjer. Etter et langstrukket, hvinende klimaks og en stemningsfull pustepause, gjentar bandet prosessen i kortversjon. Det hele er akkurat så knalltøft og godt gjennomført som man er vant med.
Mønstertro er også «Lacuna/Sunrise», en tilbakelent, drømmende syttitallsgroove med antisosiale teksttendenser. Mer overraskende er introen på «I. M. S.», hvor fire sirklende pianolinjer blir utgangspunkt for et buldrende hurtigtog av en rockelåt, som deretter durer i vei langs kjente spor.
Bandet byr ogsÃ¥ pÃ¥ sin tolkning av sekstitallslÃ¥ten «Spin, Spin, Spin» – skrevet av Terry Callier og videreforedlet av psykedelia-gruppen HP Lovecraft. Med lettbeint melodi og enkel oppbygning fungerer den som en fin avveksling pÃ¥ en intens plate. Sporet er dessuten en pÃ¥minnelse om den friske, umiddelbare siden av Motorpsycho som sjelden kommer til syne lenger.
For kommende utgivelser må det være lov å håpe at mønsteret har plass til flere poplåter innimellom monsterjakten.
ERIK FOSSEN
Aftenposten (5/6, Norwegian only).
I ordered the Toys single in mid-December. I haven't received it, and sent an e-mail to Motorpsycho@online.no yesterday. Four hours later I got a reply, saying that they had had some difficulties communicating with Paypal. For some reason they were not notified when somebody paid through Paypal. They apologized, and promised that they would send it today.
E
So, the Norwegian newspaper VG seems quite impressed with the exhibition:
http://www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/utstilling-motorpsycho-motorsonisk-vitenskap/a/23543628/
This is exciting. It looks as if I have to travel to Trondheim next fall as well. What makes it doubly exciting is that Carl Frode Tiller is an excellent author.
quoting pfnuesel: What's that CD/LP they are talking about here?
The book Supersonic Scientists will contain 15 essays about 15 songs from 15 different albums. These 15 songs will also be released as a 2XLP/2XCD by Rune in October. The CD Version will also include two bonus tracks.
A review from Mojo (which hardly says anything about the music at all):
Motorpsycho: En konsert for folk flest
3 stars out of 5
Trondheim trio tell Norway's politicians to take care when speaking on their behalf.
This monumental work examining the nature of being Norwegian is presented in grand style: both on CD and double album. The performance, from last July, is also captured on DVD. A centre pocket inside the gatefold sleeve contains a detailed book on the ideas behind the concert and its execution. Norway's Motorpsycho are no strangers to the grand gesture. In 2012 they collaborated with organist/composer Ståle Storløkken on The Death Defying Unicorn at Oslo's Opera House. Folk Flest reunites them in their hometown Trondheim; augmented by strings and a choir for a work inspired by the concept of "most people". Norway's politicians bandy the term to gain support by appealing to the notion of most people. Motorpsycho rip this apart. This driving, intense and soaring piece is best appreciated as an entity apart from the psychedelically inclined Motorpsycho of late.
Kieron Tyler
Not quite sure whether there's too much to add. It was a glorious, glorious night, even if, as others have pointed out, Slottsfjell is very different to other festivals I have been to. The crowd was way different from what I'd expect at a festival.
I was one of those fortunate enough to get a ticket for the Q&A. Snah missed it, the four others were present. Exactly why Deathprod and Kenneth took place I'm not quite sure, they hardly said anything at all. Bent and Geb did most of the talking – Bent was the serious one, Geb was in a great mood, with oneliner following oneliner. An example: he claimed to be completely unaware of what was going on in the music world in the early nineties, so when he saw the word "grunge" (on purpose pronounced with two syllables) in a review, he had no idea what it meant, and figured out that it was probably a trøndersk expression ("eit inntrøndersk uttrykk"). Most of those present enjoyed it, at least those speaking or understanding Norwegian. Several travelling psychonauts were there, including the one from the legendary Carpe Diem-photo from Øya 2010. When Geb recognized some of those in the audience, he immediately went up to them, greeting them with smiles and hugs.
As you all know, it was uncertain whether the show would go on. We spent some time studying the program (and trying to find out where the stage was – it would be helpful if Slottsfjell put up some signs), and realized that it would be impossible to move the concert to another stage. Thus, it was no big surprise when it was finally announced that the stairs leading to the stage were opened, neither was it a surprise when Bent opened the show by saying that if the wind increased, they would have to call it off.
The wind stayed away, of course. Why would it cause such a show to be called off? After a playful "Waiting for the one", the drum intro to "Nothing to Say" brought a number of smiles to the crowd. I went to the show with my brother, who hadn't seem Motorpsycho since the mid-90s, and the smile on his face made me think of the many shows we witnessed together back then, and how that intro always made us jump like mad. (Now we are too old for that, we only move our bodies back and forth.) The song itself, and the following "Feedtime" set the tone for the night. "Feedtime" was bloody excellent.
And so it progressed. The more rocking songs got the best response, I felt, but also the others were a joy to watch. The only downpoints of the show were "All Is Loneliness", which suffered from a bad mix, where Bent's singing was the only singing we could hear, to a certain extent "Gutwrench", and "Mr. Who?", who was as misplaced here as it is on the record.
I also felt that "Demon Box" as a minute or two too long, but otherwise it was, as I've already said, a glorious night. Many songs brought lumps to my throat, some brought tears to my eyes. It was not quite as exceptional as TM at Øya, but it was not far away. I turned fifty the following day, by the way, and even if I have never bothered celebrating birthdays, this was the best present anyone could have received.
Some similar thoughts on my blog (Norwegian only).
