Motorpsycho
Let Them Eat Cake

A perplexing and surprising album. Knowing Motorpsycho as a great hard rock band somewhere between Hawkwind, Blue Cheer, and Deep Purple, and then listening to "The Other Fool," the first track of "Let Them Eat Cake," can only have this effect. Astonishment and wonder. The album indeed begins with a lively track where the rhythm is dictated by a string section, while the guitar draws arabesques in the background with continuous breaks and tempo changes. And when the track reaches its climax with an oriental-sounding solo, everything stops and restarts with an acoustic guitar and a Barrett-esque melody. Simply wonderful.

"Let Them Eat Cake," an album released in 2000 by the Norwegian band, is a jewel of grace and balance that is rarely heard. Everything revolves around pop rock melodies immersed in 60s psychedelic baths, like the Beatles of "Sgt. Pepper's" and early Pink Floyd, making great use of brass and string arrangements that give the work a vaguely progressive flavor. Stunning tracks like "Upstairs & Downstairs," "Stained Glass," "My Best Friend" are pop gems of another era, enriched by sumptuous arrangements, psychedelic, never mundane. To these are added folk nursery rhymes like "Big Surprise," "Never Let You Out," and a track, "Walkin' With J." where Motorpsycho return in a rock guise. Further nuances to this album are added by "Whip That Ghost," a fantastic track that reveals the Norwegians' passion for jazz, and the evocative "30/30," for voice and organ only, to close in triumph an album of rare beauty.