Cave
Threace

Returning, two years after the previous "Neverendless", the Californians Cave are increasingly lost in their temporal bubble, set around the year 1971/72, located between Dusseldorf, Munich, and Essen.

Proud and indomitable supporters and promoters of the kraut verb on American soil, Cave on their third album find what seems to be the almost perfect recipe for their sound. And they do this by detaching themselves from the attempt (also very successful on the previous record) to recreate the motorik sound of NEU! and hybridize it with today's acidic guitars. Adding important doses of funk groove (but as white as a German from Dresden in Gabicce in '82) without losing sight of the taste for stunning instrumental iteration. The emblematic opener "Sweaty Fingers", 12 minutes of white funk, that, 4 minutes from the end, gets entranced on an endless loop.

Worth highlighting is the increased harmony between the four musicians, whose technique was already evident in previous work, but here reaches exceptional levels of self-control. Yes, because the group's greatest gift is not playing over themselves, being more essential and stripped down than ever, even in repetitions and rhythmic patterns that are anything but static. Pay close attention to the course of "Silver Headband" and try to grasp the ingenious intertwining of rhythmic layers that intersect throughout its 9 minutes. Or the intricate work of the rhythm section in "Shikaakwa". Also very interesting is the final "Slow Bern", pulsating yet meditative, and especially "Arrow's Myth" which moves away from Germany traveling to the Ethiopia of Mulatu Astatke and the Harlem of '60s jazz.

An album and a band that finally seek to break free from the self-constructed psych kraut boundaries which might also appeal to listeners not well-versed in the subject.