Detailed Reviews [Moose Loose - 1974 - "Elgen Er Los"]

Prolusion. Norwegian band Moose Loose were active between 1973 and 1977, releasing two studio albums prior to folding. "Elgen Er Los" is their debut album, and was first released in 1974 through the label Plateselskapet Mai. The album was reissued in 2021 as a part of the project Norske Albumklassikere.

Analysis. Moose Loose is a band I had never heard about until I was notified about the project Norske Albumklassikere, and I guess I'm not the only Norwegian that can state that as a fact. Which is a bit of a shame, as the musicians that were involved in this project are fairly renowned, at least here in Norway. In this case we are talking about a jazzrock band, and a unit exploring this type of music in very much a time typical manner. All the songs are instrumental here, and all of them carry a strong feeling of improvisation to boot. I do understand that the majority of the material is described as being written, but at leas the end result is music that sounds like it features many improvised details, and that free spirit to the music is some of the charm about this production. 'Eber's Funk' kicks off with circulating groove patterns supporting expressive keyboards and guitar soloing respectively, while the following 'B. M.' explores a feistier mood and atmosphere reminding a bit about early Eloy prior to seguing over to a few more distinctly jazz-oriented sections with and without psychedelic flavoring. 'Flytende Oye' is a more expressive creation exploring both more careful and more demanding sounds and movements, twisting and turning a few times before landing on a solid and satisfying end run. 'Skakke-Jens' is a creation with more of a limited appeal, featuring start and stop movements and a kind of elongated, experimental call and answer routine of the kind those who love and treasure free form jazz will have a field day with. The concluding 'O Kjod' explore similar landscapes, but here with more flow and movement and a more subdued and careful harmonized exploration by way of elegant and dominant but delicate piano patterns supported by equally careful plucked guitar patterns. A creation representing the more accessible side of free form jazz if you like, and with some folk music associations tucked in to the totality too.

Conclusion. For my sake it is the first three cuts on this album that are most interesting. Expressive and dynamic instrumental jazzrock is what we are treated with on these cuts. The songs do sound a bit dated almost 50 years on, and some of the passages can get a tad stale too, but the dated sounds and retro mood and atmosphere makes up for a lot of that in pure charm. A certain affection for jazzrock as a style and the early 70's as an era of music will probably be needed to get the most out of this music, and for those who can subscribe to those notions this is an album that it will be worth to track down for these three songs alone. And those among that group of people that also enjoy a bit of free form jazz will of course have a full album experience to look forward to.

Progmessor: September 2021
The Rating Room