heddhunter
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Nebulous Amphibians
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Post by heddhunter on May 27, 2015 10:51:34 GMT -8
The album went live on all the streaming services yesterday, and as I am a Beats Music subscriber, that's what I used to listen.
There is a lot of music here so it's too early for a full review. I've only listened all the way through twice so far, and most of that was while working. What I have noticed is that there is a lot more synth this time around. It's almost like a Nodens Ictus album in a lot of places. That's just fine with me. The major new sonic element seems to be processed ethnic vocals ala Twisted Records acts like Shpongle, Ott, Younger Brother, etc. I have to be honest - I'm not really a fan of that technique, but happily it seems like it's used sparingly on ToTS.
I can see how if you are a space rock/live band kind of person ToTS may be a bit of a disappointment. It's more of a "composed" synth/computer album. Most of the drum tracks sound like loops or programmed beats. Personally, I'm fine with it. There's nobody else who can paint these electronic soundscapes the way Ed can.
Love the artwork - possibly their best yet.
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harm
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Post by harm on May 27, 2015 23:09:03 GMT -8
@yiannis: there's no need to apologise, all is well! Plus, it's logical you would think of my username as the English word with its negative connotation. I've had to explain this on more occasions. And you didn't sound aggressive, it's just that I put some effort in constructing my review to not make it look like whining or moaning... so calling it exactly that was a bit off-putting to me. pixeldream: I'm glad you like it. I agree with you on the melodic ideas, most of them are truly good. An example that comes to mind is 'Zenlike Creature', for now my favourite of the album. Just imagine if it had more pounding drums - that would have been amazing.
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chrisa
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Post by chrisa on May 27, 2015 23:22:48 GMT -8
Love the album. Like the self-referencing such as Kick Muck, Saucers and I'm sure I heard a bassline from Waterfall Cities. Having said that, it's a lovely meandering sort of album whether you know those earlier tracks or not. I like the low mixed drums. There's some excellent drum programming and some great rhythms from Balazs. Also good to hear some of Ed's acoustic playing.
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Post by yiannis on May 27, 2015 23:40:07 GMT -8
I'm sure I heard a bassline from Waterfall Cities. I'm a sucker for this kind of reuse of elements. I sounds like you might not remember which TotS track this is on, but if you do, please post it here.
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harm
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Post by harm on May 28, 2015 2:25:30 GMT -8
The riff from Lemon Kush (Paper Monkeys) also returns on one of the tracks, slightly sped up. It's on "Zingbong". Listen for it around the 02:50 mark, where it begins in different form. Then around 05:08 in the song it's there.
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Post by yiannis on May 28, 2015 3:20:57 GMT -8
The riff from Lemon Kush (Paper Monkeys) also returns on one of the tracks, slightly sped up. It's on "Zingbong". Listen for it around the 02:50 mark, where it begins in different form. Then around 05:08 in the song it's there. It is similar indeed.
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Post by yogbarogger on May 28, 2015 6:48:13 GMT -8
It was #2 in the Amazon Psychedelic Rock charts (behind the f**k**g Beatles No.1s album) and very high up in the overall Amazon charts. I think they remain underground, but there is a lot of eagerness to get their output these days.
Incidentally, Amazon seem to have got rid of their Psychedelic Rock section now and merged it with Classic Rock.
The Epiphlioy version live was tremendous...I think it did away with the beginning and opted for an extended funk workout after the main section - Brandi and Balazs doing some stunning work only "spoiled" by a weird, assumed freestyle, solo by Ed that was all over the place to my ears...Brandi - you had a concerned expression on your face at the end of that (this was in Newcastle), was it my ears or did Ed just not get the mojo?
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chrisa
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Post by chrisa on Jun 1, 2015 0:22:32 GMT -8
I'm sure I heard a bassline from Waterfall Cities. I'm a sucker for this kind of reuse of elements. I sounds like you might not remember which TotS track this is on, but if you do, please post it here. So Yiannis, I've listened again...It wasn't Waterfall Cities, it was the synth bassline at the end of Oddentity. The bass at the end of Unusual Village is very similar. It maybe a quote or it may just be coincidence. Doesn't matter, either way it's a marvellous track. I've currently got CD2 on repeat play. Tremendous.
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Post by yiannis on Jun 1, 2015 6:30:01 GMT -8
So Yiannis, I've listened again...It wasn't Waterfall Cities, it was the synth bassline at the end of Oddentity. The bass at the end of Unusual Village is very similar. It maybe a quote or it may just be coincidence. Doesn't matter, either way it's a marvellous track. I've currently got CD2 on repeat play. Tremendous. I think you're right, it does sound similar. Also, I have a slight preference for the second CD myself, but only just. Is anyone else finding the Erp talk in the middle of Rubbing Shoulders amusing?
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Post by yiannis on Jun 2, 2015 8:45:17 GMT -8
Yeeeah! New Nodens and a possible remastered Grove!
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spork
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We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.
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Post by spork on Jun 4, 2015 10:00:45 GMT -8
this album is beautiful. the music is perfectly matched by the cover art.
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chrisa
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Post by chrisa on Jun 4, 2015 10:51:49 GMT -8
It's early days but this is becoming a favourite Ozric Album for me along with Erpland, Live Underslunky, Aborescence, Become the Other, Curious Corn, Hidden Step, Spirals in Hyperspace and The Floor's Too Far Away...My top Ozrics albums are constantly changing but these would be the current faves...maybe another time the 6 cassettes would feature but not at the moment. I do listen to other bands as well, I have to as my wife isn't keen on shredding guitars and wooshy synths...hup ho.
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Post by yiannis on Jul 8, 2015 6:11:46 GMT -8
It has held up to repeated plays both sober and not. For me this is definitely the best album since the glory days of the mid-90s. Easily as good as any Seaweed-era album. Can anyone tell the tunes Balazs plays on? I'm finding it really hard this time.
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Post by garlicmick on Jul 8, 2015 23:30:46 GMT -8
Yep, still lovin' it a month on. And hearing new things in it.
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chrisa
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Post by chrisa on Jul 16, 2015 0:29:17 GMT -8
Listening to the wonderful High Pass at the moment. Anyone else hear Strangeitude in there?
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Post by yiannis on Jul 16, 2015 4:15:49 GMT -8
Listening to the wonderful High Pass at the moment. Anyone else hear Strangeitude in there? Strangeitude the track or the album? I don't hear anything from the track, but if you're talking about the album, do you have a particular tune in mind? Love the tune regardless, that gliss melody in the intro and outro is heavenly.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 10:07:27 GMT -8
I like the guitar in that track high pass - two really short heavy moments, where it reminds me on Dimebag DarrellĀ“s guitar sound on far beyond driven. HELL YEAH!
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Post by yiannis on Jul 16, 2015 10:40:31 GMT -8
it reminds me on Dimebag DarrellĀ“s guitar sound on far beyond driven. HELL YEAH! Can't say I got that listening to the tune, but what an album that is! That beatdown on Stronger Than All, oh!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 11:21:48 GMT -8
"Love the tune regardless, that gliss melody in the intro..."
Great flashback to the live intro of concerts of the past tour - listen from the start to the 30sec, for example this one:
The guitar sound of "the high pass" around 6:33 6:46 7:02 and more clear at 7:17min - do you know what i mean?
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Post by yiannis on Aug 3, 2015 5:10:03 GMT -8
I've been lurking on psynews for years and lately I've gathered that a number of people there like TotS. It seems it might be a bigger hit among electronic music aficionados than (space) rock fans. In other words the core of their fan base has probably shifted greatly. I mean, I'm sure they've had electronic music fans since at least the mid 90s but now I reckon most of their fans come from that background, while some of the older fans don't enjoy this direction.
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Post by yiannis on Jul 17, 2016 1:18:10 GMT -8
High Pass is a great tune, sounds like there's plenty of both texture and scope for improvisation. I wish they'd attempt it live. That and Unusual Village might be my favourites, along with Epiphlioy.
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Post by bucketpod on Jul 17, 2016 4:37:50 GMT -8
TOTS is my least favorite Ozrics release, but Epiphlioy would definitely make my 'Very Best of Ozrics' songlist/cd. The other songs I enjoy are The High Pass, Far Memory & Zingbong & they would make a 'Best of TOTS' cd compilation from me, but probably not a 'Very Best of Ozric Tentacles' songlist/cd. The rest of the songs I haven't mentioned are ok, not bad by any stretch, but they just don't make me want to revisit them often. Something that bothers me about TOTS is the mix, I think the synths are too high in the mix to the point of nearly drowning out the drums. The drums just aren't high enough in the mix and/or the synths are too high, almost overbearing even, imo. The drums on some of their other stuff are kind of low in the mix too, but not as much as TOTS.
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Post by Pp3dr0 Ag4o0 on Sept 13, 2016 2:17:25 GMT -8
it is inevitable that jamming a bunch of tunes together with each instrumentalist contributing his or her part to a shared understanding of how each tune is flowing will grow those tunes up in different ways than sitting down and one person design from memory a series of spaces that exhibit/explore different rhymthmic or textural facets of interesting soundscaping geometries. I do not believe either method to be inherently "better":: even if one is preferable to the other it may not be practical, as for example it might be too awkward to induct your offspring in your own controversible experiences, knowing as you would do both the benefits And the 'dangers' of the same,.,.,. in any case the journey described by the sound still comes across, even if the sound has become more insistent over the years, with the synths mixed higher up where they used to spend a lot more time being more like an effect sparking off of the guitar sound - TBH it's now quite a long time since the sound was really subtle and easy going (monochrome cassette days / vitamin enhanced / afterswish), i think the compulsiveness in the sound started around jurassic shift era, and the whole designed sound didn't really take over until around paper monkeys,.,. but those are just my rough marking-sticks... none of the styles is less valid than any of the others - if all albums tried to sound the same that would be rubbish,.,.,.,. in my opinion,,, (more support for that ozrics unplugged notion than i have seen around here somewhere before... the sort of idea so silly it could only either be absolute genius or totally awful worst idea ever, depending on how it would be handled) I sometimes wonder if at some point in the band's trajectory our minds were supposed to become harder to overwhelm,,,, everyone in the band is totally capable of playing their instruments to the required specification, but it feels perhaps to some as though their only input into the tunes is the detailing of their particular solo-parts, whereas before there was a synergy as each member sounded more like they had brought their own riffage and style to the table... i still cannot say whether i overall prefer an obediently performed and coherent designed tune or an organically grown tune that results from compromises between different musicians' ideas - why should i decide that one is inferior and the other superior, since they take me anyway - so the things that some hold up as criticisms are to me just variety, growth, evolution, and this band has always had this way of representing familiar things in new ways, and that has always been a very appealing factor to me, not to keep getting repeats of erpland, but to hear these skills used in as many varied ways as possible, suitable for all kinds of moods and or times of night or day....,,,.,,.
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Post by yiannis on Sept 20, 2016 1:02:18 GMT -8
Had a listen to the album yesterday and today while walking and The Smiling Potion clicked like never before. One their strangest tunes ever, up there with Strangeitude, Pteranodon and the like, really good. The ones that haven't quite clicked 100% yet are Zingbong, Changa Masala and Zenlike Creature.
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Post by Pp3dr0 Ag4o0 on Sept 21, 2016 0:09:36 GMT -8
changa - aint that the one with the acoustic kick muck riff??!
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Post by yiannis on Sept 21, 2016 0:55:56 GMT -8
Yeah. I find it ok so far.
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Post by Pp3dr0 Ag4o0 on Sept 22, 2016 3:08:09 GMT -8
i love it - whole thing's great .,,., smiling potion is particularly lovable, makes my tummy feel weird
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Post by huetsaoka on Nov 28, 2016 16:25:54 GMT -8
This album is the best present i got from space santa klaus this year ! Thank you guys . You're technicians of the sacred without a doubt. Haven't been stunned like that since pungent effulgent.
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Post by Pp3dr0 Ag4o0 on Apr 19, 2017 7:35:26 GMT -8
it's been almost two years now..,.,.,.
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Post by yiannis on Apr 19, 2017 10:17:44 GMT -8
it's been almost two years now..,.,.,. I reckon there won't be an album this year. Three years between albums is OK by today's standards for a band with such a long career imo. ...and for the way I perceive time at 40 years of age.
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