I'll be honest here - I bought way too many space rock albums over the years. I think I was always on the lookout for a new Ash Ra Tempel or Guru Guru experience. The revisits haven't gone well. I hear too much of the same thing. Aimless improvisations with competent, but uninspired soloing. It's not that they aren't any good, or even pleasant to listen to, it's just that it becomes boring after awhile. And this proved to be the case with Melting Euphoria's first 2 albums as well. I have the 3rd, but for whatever reason, their 4th release Inside the Gardens of the Mind came up first. Same result?
No! Now this is the kind of space rock that still matters to me. It gets down to the atmosphere of each piece of music. This is not something one can write in words, and yet it is exactly what defines the Kosmische movement itself. There's a subversiveness to it, but it's not anarchy. It's controlled chaos, a way of being that defines how I live my own life. Well planned - but random. Oxymoron? No. And Melting Euphoria captures the essence of 1971 Germany better than most American bands from the 90s and beyond. In this way they recall San Antonio's Pseudo Buddha. And Melting Euphoria are not afraid to let 'er rip. Not everything is a jam, and there's plenty of songwriting here, including some progressive rock segments. Each tracks winds around in random directions, yet never out of control. Yes, this is a keeper for sure.
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