TRIGON – Cosmic Kraut Jam album
44m
Digital Download
First album by the German trio since 2018 and to call this a comeback of epic proportions is a bit like saying Notre Dame is a bit of a decent building.
This thing smokes.......smoulders.......burns.....flares......fires up.....and is the best of its kind in years.
The opening track from the guitar-bass-drums trio of Rainer and Stefan Lange and Rudi Metzler, not necessarily in that order, is the 23 minute “Achtung Traumspoiler” where, put quite simply, if you're a fan of the early Ash Ra Tempel Guitar excursions and the first three Guru Guru albums, then you are in for a treat and a half. Wasting no time in opening, introducing or building, immediately Rainer Lange's fluid electric guitar work, spirals into action and across the 23 minutes of the track, simply solos effortlessly, the jam taking on a life of its own as it never repeats, always moves, and, just like the classic Krautrock guitar tracks of yore, holds your attention in such a way that 23 minutes seem to go in the blink of an eye. The mood is one of restrained power, unafraid to take it back to almost cosmic proportions, while the axework shines without ever thundering. Stefan Lange on bass underpins it all superbly, always present, never overstated, and the perfect backbone for Metzler's drums to have a life of their own, at times shuffling along exceptionally well giving the feel of the vintage drummers of the past such as Liebezeit and Neumeier. It's one of those tracks, you just can't stop playing and it's the sheer joy of finding something that's the equivalent of unearthing a Roman mosaic, that will keep you hooked to this gem of a track for years to come.
Elsewhere, there's the 8 minute “Guten Morgen Aurora” which starts with stumbling drums from Metzler before hitting this chunky groove as the guitar work becomes more McLaughlin than Gottsching, but then presses the “Krautrock” button as the engine slowly leaves the station and gathers steam, before the trio fire up, yet maintain a medium pace as though wanting you to be able to survey the results rather than whizz past them at breakneck speed, resulting in a track that hints at melody without ever carrying a tune, spirals without disappearing and the trio create a slice of chunky jamming that hits the heights. The 3 minute “Hinterm “Ereignishorizont”, sort of continues where the previous one left off, only here in a much more molten wah-wah guitar soundpool as the drums hammer and the bass really pounds away underneath.
The album finishes with the 10 minute “Setzt Das Sonnensegel”, led by the undulating drumming, a river of perfect flowing bass, and that electric guitar positively singing, as the chords and notes fill the horizon with the might of the sun on a perfect summer's day, this time really taking off and filling your heart and head with sonic delight as another guitar-led jam unfolds to effortless success.
Overall, this thing is absolutely flawless, and, as essential purchases go, its value can't be overstated.
Andrew Garibaldi
Inkeyes and Gee-Force 13. August 2024
