Release Date: 29th
August 2014
Label: Indie
The band is currently a 6 piece group with some guests
also involved in the recording of the current release. Amritakripa (synth,
voice), Robbi Robb (guitars, voice), Jorge Bassman (bass), Erik Mouness (drums,
percussion), Alan Swanson (keyboards) and Eric Ryan (guitars) form the basic
band with John Whoolilurie (saxophone), Billy Shire (mouth organ), Roger Arnold
(flute), Bobby Moses Nichols (guitar) and Don Lombardo (percussion) also
helping out. In effect, 3rd Ear Experience is more of a project or
collective as the line-up depends on which musicians are, or are not, available
at the time.
Incredible
Good Fortune is a 5 track album with a running time of
around 76 minutes, making it a fairly long album. The shortest track on offer,
track 4, “White Bee” is still over 8 minutes in length (8:12) with all the
other tracks in excess of 10 minutes, and the opening track, “Tools,” being the
longest at 19:33 minutes.
“Tools” (19:33) has a very gentle guitar passage as an
intro with some subtle synth tweaks in the background. The powerhouse of the
band, the drum and bass pairing, starts to fill in the spaces until the track
is motoring along. The guitar then comes to the fore again with a mesmerizing
repetitive riff and the overall feel to the music thus far is very spacey,
almost like a cleaned-up version of those space veterans, Hawkwind. There appears a superb lead guitar passage
which soars above everything and carries the track onwards. Soon time is made
available for the organ and it delicately weaves in and out of proceedings. The
track gives the feeling that there are some pre-arranged bits but there is
plenty of leeway for some out and out improvisation. This is one of those
tracks that seems to give more to the listener with repeated plays and the
entrance of the sax was entirely unexpected. A slight nod to a more heavy rock
styling creeps in and maintains the listener’s interest. It is difficult to
easily express what this track is all about, but floaty, spacey and sometimes
heavy, seems just about right.
“One” (18:09) has a spacey start with bass and synths
setting the aural scenario with a haunting riff playing and a slow build-up to
a full band workout. The upfront driving bass and drums with the
tweaking/twiddling synths again lean toward the sound of Hawkwind. The very
dreamy, echoed vocals suit this track perfectly. There is a terrific contrast
between the driving and the quieter passages within this track. This track
seems to follow the first with the feeling of pre-arranged and improvised
areas. Both guitar and synth get a chance to shine before the long atmospheric
fade-out.
“Parsley” (17:33), has a stunning guitar and eastern
style rhythmical drumming setting the scene for the third long track. Guitar
driven early on in the track, there is then a passage if very intriguing Indian
style chanting before allowing the guitar back in. Synths behind the chanting
work very well as the track launches into a frenzy. The track swings between
Eastern and Western sounds before there is another long fade-out.
The shortest track, “White Bee” (8:12) starts with
percussion and swathes of synths with an almost ethereal like vocalization.
This is a much gentler floating track and is very relaxing. Lulled into a false
sense of security, the band seem to waken up and crank up the volume to take
the song out, as it slowly returns to the more gentle starting point.
The final track, “Shaman’s Dream” (11:31), has a synth
start which leads to a full band involvement and at times, the music seems
almost at odds with itself but the superb playing of all involved ensures that
this does not happen. Some extremely powerful Native American chanting appears
but is soon replaced by a driving guitar. The chanting passage returns for a
second time and then the sound seems to be stripped back and the vocals give a
hint of Bowie, before the full band strives to take the band out.
Incredible
Good Fortune was an unexpectedly pleasant listening
experience. The sound ebbed and flowed throughout, constantly drawing the
listener in and maintaining the interest. It is not always a good thing to
describe a band as sounding like another, but 3rd Ear Band, on this
display are the nearest thing I have heard to Hawkwind for a very long time,
and the musicians should take that as a huge complement.
Have a listen to this album and you will find yourself
going out to hunt down and buy a copy.
This is an excellent album by a very interesting band.
4.5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: Shaman’s Dream, Parsley, Tools
Tracks:
Tools
One
Parsley
White Bee
Shaman’s Dream
Tracks:
Tools
One
Parsley
White Bee
Shaman’s Dream
January 17, 2015
Review
Provided By Write A Music Review
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