Bondage Fruit, Japan

Avant prog; Zeuhl

Latest release: Bondage Fruit VII (2024)

Well this came out of nowhere! 19 years since their last album, Bondage Fruit returns. I didn't find any online presence for the group, though it may be in Japanese somewhere.

Bondage Fruit - VI (2005)

Bondage Fruit's 6th, and apparently last album (until 2024), sees the band diversifying their sound to the point of no identity. The Zeuhl backbone of their early works has all but been rubbed out here. Not to say that they didn't hit pay dirt on a few of these numbers. Opener 'Three Voices' is the longest piece here, and sounds like Tortoise playing the music of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Which seems like an oxymoron, until you actually hear it. A fantastic opening. 'Rath' is a raga rock piece, and fits well with Bondage Fruit's style. 'Locomotive' is a strange tune that's closer to Southern Fried blues rock, and contrary to what I said about 'Rath', this seems a bit self-indulgent for a band with no history of such. 'Dear Gazelle' has a bit of KBB styled Celtic violin, but begins to cook wildly midway, and is my personal favorite of the album. A very strong heavy fusion piece. 'The Train' recalls mid 70s King Crimson with long stretches of atmospheric violin but gets a bit long in the tooth after a while. 'Something Green' is a pretty melancholic instrumental that eases the tension. And 'I/O' sounds like 'Dueling Banjos' meets Bollywood electronica.

---12/31/16

1/26/24 (new entry)

Ring van Möbius, Norway ***Inactive***

Retro prog

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Latest release: Commissioned Works Pt II : Six Drops Of Poison (2023)

Looks like the band has decided to call it day. That's too bad.

The 3rd Majesty (2020)

Snuck one more new album in before the New Year. Ring van Mobius burst onto the scene a couple of years ago with their own brand of retro prog. To be honest I don't remember much about that debut (I have a scratch off note in here somewhere), but I have an excellent rating for it. And perhaps no surprise since Past the Evening Sun was modeled to some extent on Van der Graaf Generator - a band I recently told you all I struggle to recollect regardless. The 3rd Majesty seems to draw from a different well of UK progressive rock. There are some VDGGisms left, but gone is the saxophone, and its place is a barrage of keyboards and fuzz bass. Whereas fellow countrymen Wobbler dabbles with both classic Scandinavian dark prog and all-time favorites Yes, Ring van Mobius borrows from that same Yes, as well as ELP, King Crimson - and the American variant of such. Scoff all you want, but one can even hear Starcastle within these grooves. As is often the case with music like this, the blend is original even if the ingredients are not.  Given that I'm an unreconstructed early 70s progger at heart, I find albums like this to be highly satisfying. But not one for those who would like to get past 1974. For my tastes this album challenged Wobbler's latest to the finish line. Superb offering.

---1/1/21

Past the Evening Sun (2018)

It doesn't take too long to figure out that Ring van Möbius (Ring van Mobius if searching) have Van der Graaf Generator on the mind while listening to Past the Evening Sun. The dense compositions, the broad stroke saxophone, heavy bass, and the psychotic Peter Hammill style vocals all point to Pawn Hearts. The vocals might be a bit more soft affected than Hammill's - perhaps a bit of Gabriel even, and some of the mellotron work recalls early King Crimson, so it's not all intense - all the time. Ring van Möbius were to switch gears for their second effort The 3rd Majesty (for arguably the better) which I managed to get some words down on this blog. For another Norwegian retro prog band reference, Past the Evening Sun reminds me of Gargamel. Easy rec for fans of complex early 70s prog rock.

---1/24/22

1/15/19 (new entry)

Corima, USA-Texas/California ***Inactive***

Zeuhl 

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Latest release: Amaterasu (2016)

Moving this forward. A couple of nights ago I revisited my CD of the debut. Such a great album. They had announced back in 2021 they were putting the finishing touches on their third album Hunab Ku. And then they disappeared. Ugh! Where did ya'all go?

Amaterasu (2016)

Corima's last album, the kinetic Quetzalcoatl, blew my bloomin' mind, so I was a bit reticent to jump into their new one. Even though I bought the album upon release late last year, I didn't hear it until this week. So did Amaterasu match or exceed the previous effort? No, of course not. I don't think that was even possible, or even a reasonable ask. OK, then, but is it at least good? Oh heck yea! It's fantastic in fact. But I don't think there was much more they could have done in the direction of Quetzalcoatl without being a straight copy. So, like Eskaton before them, they tried something a bit different. Eskaton had at their disposal a current trend of synth pop, that they completely destroyed into their own unique twisted vision. Corima was not near so bold, sticking to more tried and true Zeuhl principles. Amaterasu is broken into two distinct tracks. The more jazzy, atmospheric, and melodic 'Tsukutomi' (recalling at times Vander's Offering) and then the charter Zeuhl school of the title track. The opener has some brilliant foot stomping moments offset by a bit of loose sax wankery that doesn't serve the band well. However the melodic songwriting is a step in the right direction, and would be interesting for them to marry Quetzalcoatl's style with it. The title track too has an atmospheric buildup. Think Weidorje. And then the real party starts. Zeuhl styled chanting and screams, hyper active rhythms, sax and electric piano cycling into swirls of madness, bass and drums pounding your brains into the turf. Weeeeeee. OK, time to get in line for another ride.

---8/4/17

Quetzalcoatl (2012)

Corima are a group who first assembled in El Paso and moved to Los Angeles. Their full length debut is an astounding album. It maintains the intensity of the Japanese Zeuhl school (think Koenji Hyakkei), but possesses a much clearer focus and the music is given more room to breathe. Violin, saxophone, fuzz keyboards, and female vocals are the distinguishing sounds and characteristics of the album. There is plenty of amazing super-tight ensemble work throughout - all in hyper drive - that are truly sublime. The melodic interludes that constantly pop up among the chaos are truly enlightening in this setting. Magma's Mekanik is the most obvious comparison overall, though they go faster and harder than that may imply. All five members put in a fantastic performance, but special mention goes to Andrea Itzpaplotl (nee Calderon) for her brilliant violin work and beautiful vocals - and to Sergio Sanchez-Ravelo for his monster staccato drum work. He must've lost 20 pounds just recording this album! For my tastes, one of the best Zeuhl albums since the glory days of Eskaton!

---10/3/12

10/3/12 (new entry)

Mushroom, USA-California

Space rock; Jazz rock; Krautrock styled

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Latest release: Messages from the Spliff Bunker (2024). To be released Feb 10.

Another 90s band returns after being relatively dormant for some years.

Cream of Mushroom (1998)

The hype sticker on the casing states "Debut CD from Mushroom with Krautrock, psychedelic & jazz fusion influences. Their sound is similar to Tortoise, Miles Davis, Can, Soft Machine." And with that Mushroom threw down the gauntlet. This was in the early days of the American Krautrock revival, and where better to start than San Francisco. Of course only Can above could be considered Krautrock but it is the centerpiece of the CD - namely the 24 minute 'The Reeperbahn'. This track has Can written all over it with its hypnotic repetitive groove and analog sounds dropped on top. As it turns out, the CD incorporates Mushroom's true debut, 1997's LP of the same name as the lengthy track, along with four new compositions. From the LP we also hear 'On the Corner (Part 2)' which of course covers the Miles reference. And there's some fuzz bass, so I guess that's to be the Hopper nod. Graham Connah is the keyboardist here, and his next venture would be Jettison Slinky, one of the few American bands who paid homage to the Canterbury scene. In the end what you get with Mushroom are all the obvious pop culture references and musical influences. As a listener, it would be easy to write it off as hipster imitation. But what I hear is an innovative band taking in all the influences and creating something wholly unique. Mushroom would continue to be a fascinating band for the next 10 years or so before fizzling out. If curious, this CD debut would be as good as any place to start, though not their very best.

---1/19/21

1/20/24 (new entry)