| CD REVIEW Makajodama |
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Band : Makajodama This one was a nice surprise for me. I'd had no exposure to the Swedish Makajodama prior to listening to this album. The debut album is very strong, convey moods and atmosphere and remember to rock out once in awhile. Their label likes to wield terms like post rock and prog rock, which somehow makes sense but is hardly enough to describe the quartet’s music. One can feel influence of many styles of music ranging from prog, post, blues- to folk rock to classical and jazz throughout and the vast nature of their sound envelops the listener. The instrumentation on the album is the typical rock instruments, with the addition of a cello, violin, agogo, berimbo, pandeiro, flute, bassoon, tuba, horn, sitar and organ. The music on this album varies greatly. Whether it's the ‘belly of an architect’-build up of “The train of thought”, the horn spraying of the jazzy “Vallingby revisited ” with nice percussion,, the King Crimson-esque “The ayurvedic soap”, the sonorous and bittersweet "The girls at the marches”, the music possesses an immense scope. The outstanding “Redor felgen blues” is a smooth composition with sexy bass licks that begins with variations of a theme before escalating into heavy groove overdrives. Fans of slow, creeping atmospheric instrumental prog rock rejoice; “Buddha and the camel” is the song for you. It is ethereal, beautiful, delicate, spiritual, but at the same time melancholic. It is dramatic and powerful in a subtle way. Listen to the heart breaking guitar solo in the middle part and just let me say that emotional intensity does not always equal speed and volume. The folk and medieval influences are brought more sharply into focus on “Autumn suite” and “Wolof”. Makajodama’s style can best be compared to Van der Graaf, King Crimson, Anglagard, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Wim Mertens, Pink Floyd, Zappa’s Hot Rats, Charles Mingus, Comus, Philip Glass, Univers Zero,… On the whole, though, they carve they own path. Whatever genre you put this on this is an amazing instrumental album that deserves a listen for sure. 93/100 Cosmicmasseur. |