Short Reviews [Oresund Space Collective - 2024 - "Orgone Unicorn"]

Somewhat amazingly this is the collective's 44th release since their debut back in 2006, which I reviewed back in the day. I have only heard a few of theirs since then, but did review 2023's "Everyone Is Evil" and this contains many of the same musicians with Dr. Space (Hammond, Mellotron, Modular synth, Octave The Cat, ARP Odyssey, Poly D), Mattias Olsson (drums, congas, Mellotron, Poly D), Jonathan Segel (guitar, slide guitar, violin, Fender Rhodes), Martin Weaver (Microfreek & Roland drum machines), Luis Simões (gong, guitar, noise box), Hasse Horrigmoe (bass), Larry Lush (Fender Rhodes, Mellotron) and KG Westman (sitar, Mellotron, synths). Unlike "Everyone Is Evil" which only had four tracks, this time around we have seven, with a total playing time of 136 minutes. OSC are widely known and regarded for their improvisational approach to music and the way they get together and jam their way through recordings which means that while their version of space rock is always instantly recognisable no-one knows where it is going to lead, least of all the musicians themselves. Opener "Skin Walker" is more than 25 minutes in length, and for the most part bassist Hasse Horrigmoe plays the same motif which allows everyone else to move away at tangents knowing the music is being rooted and no matter how far away they go they will never get lost. The drums sometimes stay with, sometimes rip into rolls, the guitars and keyboards are doing their own thing, but Hasse stays locked in with incredible restraint, and it is this which makes this such a stunning introduction. Some tracks are guitar heavy, others very reliant on keyboards, but it is always OSC through and through, meaning that anyone into enthralling progressive space rock will find a universe here to explore and to drift away on. Very few bands manage to stay true to their roots through so many years, so many albums and so many changes in personnel, but Dr. Space (Scott Heller) has been the guiding force since the very beginning and long may it continue. Yet another wonderful example of free form progressive rock.