Motorpsycho＜Yellow Vinyl＞

Since the departure of drummer Tomas Jarmyr in 2023, Motorpsycho is a duo comprising founding members Bent Saether and Hans Magnus Ryan. 2023s Yay! returned the band to guitar-centric indie rock. Their self-titled 2025 album doubles down on the aggressive guitar approach, but moves further afield musically. Albeit a deliberate rock album, it belongs next to the globally celebrated Gullvag Trilogy -- The Tower (2017), The Crucible (2019), and The All Is One (2020) -- as it reflects the vast musical palette of those recordings. Motorpsycho enlisted two alternating guest drummers in Ingvald Vassbo and Olaf Olsen, guitarist and longtime collaborator Reine Fiske, and vocalist Thea Grant on the 21-minute "Neotzar (The Second Coming)." These 11 compositions are spread over 78 minutes soaked in thick, dreamy, psychedelic prog textures and metallic heaviness. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Deathprod (Helge Sten), opener "Lucifer Bringer of Light" is a sprawling 11-minute jam that directly channels Krautrock with a Motorik pulse until a spiraling guitar solo inducts the propulsive bridge during the final third. "Stanley (Tonights the Night)" adopts Gary Numans "Cars" intro (albeit blasted by Fiskes guitar). Though that vamp remains in the backdrop, Motorpsycho deliver a soaring, hooky psych anthem that underscores this duos songwriting chops. They channel 70s blues rock in the intro to "The Comeback" before altering the time signature, twin-guitar melody, and cadence to resemble something that might have appeared on the first Kansas album. At nearly 12- minutes long, "Balthazar" is an experimental piece introduced by analog synth before the Krautrock pulse claims the fore amid airy, double-tracked vocal harmony, hovering Hammond B-3, throbbing bassline, and intricate melody introduced in the guitar break. It walks a winding line between atmospheric psych and improvisational hard rock featuring blaring organ and synths. "Bed of Roses" weds an Eastern-tinged modal melody (think "Kashmir") with vocal harmonies and strings. Its followed by the the albums centerpiece, the 21-minute "Neotzar," introduced by Grants lithe, dissonant voice. The knotty, sparsely adorned, art song lyric is gradually dissected by warm, bubbling guitars, organ, violin, and ambient sounds until the three-minute mark; Motorpsycho erupts with Motorik metallic force as backing singers nearly chant in unison as the drumkit buoys them. Dynamic, texture, instrumentation and architecture are altered considerably to become a subtle but sinister drift in the second part. The band returns to rock with a noisy crescendo that gives way to an intense, seemingly improvised section as guitars, keyboards, bass, and drums menacingly crash and bite. The instruments gradually move back from that improv ledge with a rhythmic pulse in closing. "Core Memory Output" and "Three Frightened Monkeys" are classic Motorpsycho-brand hooky rockers (the latter borrows the melody from the Grateful Deads "Jack Straw") before closing with the jazzy prog psych of "Dead of Winter." With their return to prog-based psychedelic indie rock, Motorpsycho delivers a wildly adventurous, perfectly balanced set putting all of the bands musical gifts on glorious display! ~ Thom Jurek