It took Colour Haze five years to put out their previous double album masterpiece She Said. But now that Stefan Koglek’s custom built studio is finished, they’re back to a more regular release schedule. Koglek and band have really honed their studio craft, and their eleventh album is their most diverse, exploring all kinds of twists in turns in their musical journey. The orchestration from the last album continues on opening track “Circles,” and reach a shocking new level of experimentation on the closing title track, featuring acoustic guitar, and fellow München residents the Modern String Quartet, evolving from an Egyptian theme to some flat-out avant-garde modern classical. Those are some ambitious arrangements, and they totally work.
In between is “Paradise,” as close as they’ve gotten to psychedelic pop with gorgeous vocal harmonies, a unique take on Neu’s motorik rhythm on “Überall,” and “Call,” a lovely dirge that eventually opens up into thunderous guitar fuzz overdrive. Like the mostly singular word song titles, every cut is distinctly uncluttered, exuding a Zen sense of purpose that you only find with a band at the peak potency. At just over 42 minutes (including some silence before a vocal chant-like coda), does the spiritual vibe to the whole set mean it’s Koglek’s own A Love Supreme? I don’t know if the gods he knows are from an ancient religion or aliens in an egg-shaped spaceship. Perhaps the point is it doesn’t matter, as long as it inspires us to make, and appreciate, some breathtaking devotional music. | Bandcamp
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