Ozric Tentacles
Waterfall Cities

Maybe it's because it was the album that allowed me to discover them. It might also be due to the fact that at the time of listening, the chemical principle of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol was effectively serving its function as an extrasensory wide-angle lens, making me particularly receptive to what earthly reality offered. The fact remains that "Waterfall Cities" has been permanently etched into my brain.

Before we begin, dear reader, with this my first review with which I "deflower" myself on Debaser, I would like you to pause on the cover, since it is an integral part of the album, beyond the music itself, and at the same time lends a mystical and rare preciousness to the medium, placing it within a dreamlike imagery that is saturated by listening to the tracks. "Waterfall Cities": a curious image comes to mind when thinking of these mysterious "waterfall-cities" surrounded by a flora and fauna certainly spawned by an imagination inspired by psychoactive devices. Consistent with the tradition characterizing these hippie-ravers who are the Ozric, the artwork maintains the handcrafted line that has characterized previous albums (another sign of detachment from the music industry).

Let's talk about the music. To give a general overview, it is the fifteenth year of musical activity for the English band, which while maintaining the instrumental and tentacling imprint that has distinguished them since the beginning and continues to do so, takes on more markedly progressive characteristics compared to previous works, where the fusion between psychedelic and electronic culture blends further (even though comparing this chapter to the previous "Erpland", the orientation leans towards the latter). Despite this, beyond the ambient textures and the techno outbursts operated by Christopher Lenox-Smith's synth, the band boasts a kick-ass instrumental line-up, from which the electric guitar (and the occasional synthesizer contribution) of the virtuoso Wynne and the charismatic Egan stand out, with his flute radiating the Tentacles with a shamanic aura, which instead of clashing with the electronic contribution annihilating the final rendering, creates an excellent esoteric synergy. Nothing to take away from the bass and drums of Geelani and Prince, who support the rhythm section with such impeccable precision that they could be mistaken for sampled instruments, if it weren't for tracks like the dubbing "Sultana Detrii", where the presence of musicians made of flesh, bones, and reggae soul transpires more easily, compared to tracks like "Spiralmind" or "Waterfall City" where a structured sonic anarchism prevails from the irruptive and pressing dynamism of the Techno bases, over which Wyne showcases his delirium masturbating the guitar with martial fury using delay and spatial distortions. The magnetic patterns of "Xingu" rage obsessively, mathematically deconstructing the sound walls that delay and flute help enrich with dreamlike solutions.

A record with an undoubtedly hypnotic matrix is "Waterfall Cities", where technique is at the service of the most transcendental cosmic psychedelia. The awareness of the presence of real musicians and wind instruments of different types helps to remove that techno chemicality sheen, which I personally do not prefer over the psychedelic counterpart, where references to the visionary poetics of early Pink Floyd and Gong can be grasped.

An album that will certainly not change the history of music, but for my part, it has been an influence that has further opened the doors towards the underground experimentalism where floral synesthesias and post-atomic antitheses merge in an undefined panicked orgy, originating the One.