KIKAGAKU MOYO
Masana Temples

A welcome return from the Tokyo-based Kikagaku Moyo (translatable as geometric shapes), whose 2016 album “House In The Tall Grass” made them known beyond Japanese soil, thanks to a very interesting blend of psychedelic rock that shifts between hard and folk. And the electroacoustic parts were the best of that album, at once hypnotic and easily accessible.

“Masana Temples” sees the band tackling an even less electric album than the previous one, while maintaining a generally high level of acid hypnosis but applied to songs with more complex structures, bringing them closer to progressive rock than to pure psychedelia. Although on paper this might seem like a risky, if not outright wrong, choice, in execution the listening experience remains fluid and varied. Therefore, there's no risk of boredom due to long instrumental suites or anything else.

An exemplary case is “Dripping Sun”, introduced by a nice guitar riff, which speeds up and slows down the track, following the mantric singing, right up to the final electric jolt. The kraut influence remains important, especially in the methodical “Fluffy Kosmisch” and its fragmented rhythm, or in the robotic “Nana”. On the heavy side, just one episode, namely “Gatherings”, where the psych-prog approach still takes center stage, almost reminiscent of Caravan with a lot more decibels. The electroacoustic side remains what I prefer from the group: apart from the final and American “Blanket Song”, commendable is the almost tropicalism of “Orange Peel” and the controlled hypnosis of “Nazo Nazo” that brings to mind American groups from a decade ago like Brightblack Morning Light or Psychic Ills.

In conclusion, a great album and band, continuing the excellent psychedelic tradition of the Land of the Rising Sun, and among the best psychedelic albums of 2018 (alongside their fellow countrymen Minami Deutsch).