Titan (2006)
Titan is an interesting band. They released only three albums with the middle one being the piece de resistance. They closed off their career with a sincere attempt to capture the stoner audience, much to my disappointment. In reading other's reviews, many feel the second one is also stoner, but I say no way. But what about the debut? On paper it looks like a home run. Three long tracks, and they're all titled in German. No one calls this a stoner album but rather a retro Krautrock masterpiece. Unfortunately it lacks the compositional drive and varied instrumentation of Raining Sun. Mostly this is long form cosmic jamming, of the kind the Japanese usually peddle. Acid Mothers Temple and their ilk. It's not as nauseous as those bands can be, as I wouldn't claim it be a non-stop barrage of guitar noise. Seems one of these long tracks would serve well on an album, but not all three doing the same thing. And with a record collection of real deal early 70s cosmic Krautrock at my disposal, this one become superfluous.
3/28/07 (first listen); 2/21/25 (review)
Former ownership: 2006 Paradigms (CD)
Sweet Dreams (2010)
Former ownership: 2010 Relapse (CD)
2010 (first listen); 11/20/23 (review)
I remember being tipped to this band back when it first came out 11 years ago. I was as skeptical as ever. A Brooklyn based "stoner" band allegedly playing in the Krautrock style. Sorry, heard that one before fellas. And what one would usually get in that scenario is bonehead chords of fuzz, a on-his-6th whiskey vocalist, 4/4 pounding drums, and hopefully some cartoon art of dragsters, pinball machines, and disproportionate top heavy females with lots of tattoos. Yea, we're hipsters from Brooklyn! Nya-nya. In any case, enough recs came my way that I reluctantly pulled the trigger...
...And I became a Brooklyn stoner hipster on the spot.
After a few listens in 2007, I filed it away with a high grade, and haven't revisited since. Here we are, and I somewhat dreaded it. I probably was just in the mood for it or something like that. Tastes change and evolve over the years right?
I like it even better now. If for nothing else on the album, it's hard to imagine anyone who is into the early 70s proto prog sound not to be absolutely floored by 'Annals of the Former World'. It is absolute perfection in every sense of the word. It constantly changes, has haunting vocals, is heavy as all get out, has some absolutely incredible Hammond organ, is trippy in the best Krautrock style, and the guitar solos are sublime. Maybe the best track I've ever heard from modern times that encapsulates all that was great about 1971. The closest comparison to my ears is Nektar's Journey to the Centre of the Eye... sped up and then cranked to 11.
'Hashishin Ohel' is largely a continuation of the above, with a bit of a noisy ending, but overall is brilliant in its own right. 'Obelisk Orbit Overdrive' is a bit more tedious, but certainly not a poor track, just in comparison with what came before it, one would have hoped for a bit more clarity and editing.
The album ends in a very interesting fashion, with 'Aufruf der Pilz'. As its title hints at, this is a pure play Krautrock attempt. Now I would imagine the gut reaction here, especially for hipsters, is to go right for the Neu! comparison. I don't think so. Actually to me it sounds like the Ashra power trio years of 1979 to 1980 - especially on the archival tapes where the guitars are decidedly more psychedelic. An excellent rendition and very melodic to boot.
These guys were plugged in perfectly at the time. I have two others in the collection from them (before and after), but I don't recall those being quite at this level. And then they sadly disappeared.
A Raining Sun Of Light & Love, For You & You & You... (2007)
...And I became a Brooklyn stoner hipster on the spot.
After a few listens in 2007, I filed it away with a high grade, and haven't revisited since. Here we are, and I somewhat dreaded it. I probably was just in the mood for it or something like that. Tastes change and evolve over the years right?
I like it even better now. If for nothing else on the album, it's hard to imagine anyone who is into the early 70s proto prog sound not to be absolutely floored by 'Annals of the Former World'. It is absolute perfection in every sense of the word. It constantly changes, has haunting vocals, is heavy as all get out, has some absolutely incredible Hammond organ, is trippy in the best Krautrock style, and the guitar solos are sublime. Maybe the best track I've ever heard from modern times that encapsulates all that was great about 1971. The closest comparison to my ears is Nektar's Journey to the Centre of the Eye... sped up and then cranked to 11.
'Hashishin Ohel' is largely a continuation of the above, with a bit of a noisy ending, but overall is brilliant in its own right. 'Obelisk Orbit Overdrive' is a bit more tedious, but certainly not a poor track, just in comparison with what came before it, one would have hoped for a bit more clarity and editing.
The album ends in a very interesting fashion, with 'Aufruf der Pilz'. As its title hints at, this is a pure play Krautrock attempt. Now I would imagine the gut reaction here, especially for hipsters, is to go right for the Neu! comparison. I don't think so. Actually to me it sounds like the Ashra power trio years of 1979 to 1980 - especially on the archival tapes where the guitars are decidedly more psychedelic. An excellent rendition and very melodic to boot.
These guys were plugged in perfectly at the time. I have two others in the collection from them (before and after), but I don't recall those being quite at this level. And then they sadly disappeared.
Ownership: 2007 Tee Pee (CD)
4/20/07 (first listen); 6/6/18 (review)
6/6/18 (new entry)
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