Recommended by us on 15th September 2011
...according to our Mike on Thu 15 Sep, 2011.
I'm not kidding, this is literally like my second or third favourite Motorpsycho album ('Trust Us' and 'Angels and Daemons at Play' are pretty unassailable), and probably marks the point in their history when they went from being patchy but interesting to being a true force of nature. Last year their fans voted it as their favourite of the band's massive back catalogue and it was performed in its entirety at Oya festival. The full three LP box set with poster and etched side F has now been reissued so you don't even have to pay stupid money for it (the special 4CD reissue also has a disc with some pretty awesome rarities from the era, too - their covers of 'President Block' by Epinastic Movements [with Deathprod providing lead vocals!] and 'New Day Rising' by Husker Du are both bona fide treats - and comes in a beautiful mini version of the LP box). This album's got it all, from shoegazey dream pop to drawn out noise to the ahead-of-its-time post rock of 'The Golden Core'. These guys have always had an experimental and playful approach to making indie rock and this is one of their definitive documents. An essential work from quite possibly the best psych rock band ever.
”Timothy´s Monster”, originally released in late 94, is a certified classic, considered by many the best Motorpsycho album and often listed as the best Norwegian rock album in most significant listings since it´s release. Coming only a year after their dark and monumental ”Demon Box”, this is a lighter, more adventurous, spaceous and varied offering showing them blossoming into the band we have known and loved ever since, always on the move; forward, sideways, upwards, backwards. Spread over four CDs, you get the original album, the first version of the album that never got to be released and a very decent selection of rarities, outtakes and previously unreleased tracks. Not only that, the Kim Hiorthøy designed package is in itself nothing short of excellent with it´s upgraded box design (based on the original), cardboard sleeves, poster and 24 page booklet with extensive liner notes (most notably from art critic Tommy Olsson and Bent Sæther) and anecdotes, priceless photos and notes about the recordings. This is simply a treasure trove for even the moderate Motorpsycho fan, if there is such a thing as a moderat MP fan...The band have an extremely dedicated following in Norway and continental Europe and normally do an extensive tour every year. They are known for doing long sets and never play the same set twice. This year they headlined Oslo´s Øya Festival with one of the most memorable shows in the festival´s history playing ”Timothy´s Monster” in it´s entirety after fans had voted which album they wanted the band to play. Also note that ”Timothy´s Monster” is the last album with Helge Sten, aka Deathprod, as an associated member of the band. After this he decided to concentrate on his own musical career as Deathprod before forming Supersilent in 1997, and as a producer, including several later albums with Motorpsycho. Motorpsycho do a one off exclusive show with Elephant9 at The Borderline in London on 24. November. Bent Sæther: Bass, guitar, synth, piano vocals Hans Magnus Ryan: guitar, vocals Håkon Gebhardt: drums, banjo Lars Lien: piano, organ, backing vocals Deathprod: Mellotron, Theremin, synth, samples.
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