Tribal Stomp 2013
Silentia Nova
Wide-eyed, off the wall surprise with a space scope and grand groove.
There are two ways to read this German trio’s name: with and without space between its parts. It can suggest both an exotic primate and, if read in French, a wall – possibly, a stone one, as the band’s debut show them as paragons of stoner rock. Or a space rock if you like, for cosmic matters and crepuscular affairs play a major role here, up to one track not having a title, only a sax-shot bouncy veneer that comes straight from the HAWKWIND house. There’s a different type of house, too, as “Technical Progress And Other Suicide Stuff” rolls out a dance trance so, for all the suggested nebulosity, the ensemble propose powerful patterns rhythm-wise in addition to the variety of synthesized beats.
Georgios Dosis’ drums lock in with Janine Ficklscherer’s bass to provide a dark undercurrent to opener “O.m.e.n. – A Decision Of Despair” and the Eastern-flavored closer “O.m.e.n. – Creation Of A New Silence” which suspend their funereal funk for a freefall jive, while Matthias Graef’s guitar crawls from raga to blues and back again. Yet the aforementioned ghost piece passes its punch and melody to the Moog-drenched “Die Nacht Der Lemuren (Teil II)” where nocturnal waves ebb and flow into the Hammond roar before the keyboards come into a wondrous collision, and quasi-operatic vocals usher in a merrily reckless jive. Different kind of gonzoid rays beam out of “Sun” to contrast its slow brontosaurus’ riffs with punk attitude, and the title track forays further into metal territory, albeit not without shooting psychedelic arrows and sonorous vocals at its heart.
So the album doesn’t hold much silence after all, but the noise it makes is marvelous. More of this delight, please.
*****
