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 Mats/Morgan Band - Thanks For Flying With Us [Cuneiform - 2005]Drummer Morgan Ågren never let a chance slip to pimp the Belgian 'chamber-rockers' of Univers Zero and I'm sure he's proud to be their labelmate now. The music of Mats/Morgan Band is a bit different of course and on their seventh album you actually notice signs of 'growing up'. This means a little more emphasis on melody, a more listenerfriendly approach if you will. Now, in the universe Mats Öberg and Morgan Ågren a 'more traditional sound' may not suit everyone's idea of 'easy listening'. There's still enough mad funky sounds to be found and their signature sense of groove, as proven by the second (title)track already. It's just a bit more woven into the tapestry, so that all recieve in accordance with their need, in the amount of the size of their cup. It generally translates into a more traditional jazzrock than some of the haze of polyrhythms they produced earlier. Opening track Sinus has a bit of a Goblin flavour, it shows how the band manages to maintain what's good about this seventies style of music and inject it with more modern elements. The now quintet called in a few guests for some extra flavour. A Turkish zurna pops up in Allan In The Rain and a choir makes a few appearances, it diversifies their unique blend of jazz, rock and pop even more and the endresult is a pleasant listeningexperience. Unlike some of their earlier works it won't have you gasp for air or leave you puzzled as some of their earlier works could do.The bonustrack Coco (one of four liverecordings to fill up the disc) reminds me of something I do miss a bit: the cute songs that Mats tended to do. Coco originally was on Mats' disc of The Music Of The Money..., but in this liveversion he sings through a talkbox. His natural voice has this charm that was very nice to balance the more frantic moments on their albums.The seventh flight with Mats/Morgan is pleasant enough and as this is their first international release it may result in a real tour to support it. They are sorely missed on my 'seen live' list. Also: please finish that dvd, Morgan!  
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|  | | Mats/Morgan Band - Thanks For Fly... | Drummer Morgan Ågren never let a chance slip to pimp the Belgian 'chamber-rockers' of Univers Zero and I'm sure he's proud to be their labelmate now. The mu...
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| | | Splintered - Somewhere Between Lo... | 2024 saw the return of Splintered - the British noise rock collective who have largely been AWOL for the last thirty years. In their initial run between 1992...
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