Strange things are happening…………..Out now on Floating World’s imprint Freeworld is an excellent solo album, Superfluity, from Camper Van Beethoven guitarist/violinist Jonathan Segel which is a massive smorgasbord of styles and vibes which span the worlds of Psychedelia, Improvisation, Prog Rock, Americana, Electronica and the Avant-Garde. Now relocated to Sweden, Segel has over the years fully integrated into the local music scene with various projects and collaborations with various Scandibands and musicians including Dr Space’s traveling band of cosmic gypsys the Øresund Space Collective and the improvised Post Rock/Space Jazz project Sista Maj (whose recent releases were both reviewed on Strange Things here….
https://theepsychedelicatessen.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/resund-space-collective-visions-of.html). Recorded in Stockholm, Superfluity was several years in the making evolving from home recordings and jam sessions with drummers Mattias Olsson and Chris Pederson fitted around other ongoing projects until the the addition of Kelly Atkins beautiful voice added the icing to cake…………….the finished album is a pretty good indication of where Jonathan Segel is at in this moment in time and space.
There is a lot of music here……………spread over two CDs, Superfluity is a mix of gently psychedelic Alt-Rock songs, Prog Rock instrumentals, trippy Electronica, West Coast guitar workouts and totally out-there improvisations. Disc 1 contains a mix of delicate, folky Psychedelia and Alt- Rock songs (‘Mouse’, ‘Cat & Mouse’, ‘Sleep For A Hundred Years’ and the beautiful ‘Rain Down’), instrumentals (the proggy ‘Imply to Deny’ and ‘Seventh Wave’ plus the tripped out cosmic jam of ‘Like Mercury It Slips Through Your Fingers’), an excursion in experimental psychedelia (‘Silent Notes’) and closing the side an epic 23 minute bonus track improvisation which is not from this earth and at times sounds like larks Tongues In Aspic period King Crimson beamed from beyond the stars. Disc 2 is absolutely fantastic, opening with the cascading guitars and violin instrumental ‘Luxury Of Living’ the second disc contains more straight ahead, less experimental Psych/Alt-Rock such as ‘Strawberry Sun’, the album’s title track, the crunching ‘No Backup Plan’ and the epic ‘The Dying Stars’ which sounds like QMS and It’s A Beautiful Day jamming on Pluto. If you enjoyed Jonathan Segel’s recent Sista Maj project and like the weirder side of Camper Van Beethoven you are going to dig this………..check it out People.
Out NOW on 2 x CD, Superfluity is available from all good record stores, the usual on-line outlets and direct from Floating World here……
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