Hey Colossus ‘Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo’ CD/LP/DD 2013
The many headed beast that is Hey Colossus rides into town with a brand new full length offering, the bizarrely titled ‘Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo’, album number eight and the follow up to the superb ‘RRR’ release which saw the light of day through Riot Season Records in 2011. Any new Colossus work is cause for celebration in this household, ever since picking up a copy of their split 12” with the equally excellent Dethscalator, I have been hooked on their psyched out, noise-rock explorations. Massively under-stated (but garnering great press reviews) – Hey Colossus have lurked happily in the underground for just over ten years and their ranks keep swelling, reaching eight in number at present with the recent recruitment of Part Chimp guitar/vox man, Tim Cedar.
Straight from the off, I am quite surprised by their approach on this record, certainly a lot more coherent and generally more palatable for most, making a departure from their schizophrenic, experimental meanderings heard on earlier works. ‘Hot Grave’ is a fantastic opener, adding a solid groove and semi-coherent vocals to proceedings, initiating the inevitable ‘nod’ from the listener. Glimmerings of synth and tape loops drift in and out of the fore-ground as the repetitive nature builds to a crushing, shit-shifter of a track. Heavy as hell and solid as a rock, ‘Hot Grave’ certainly shows off a renewed vigour and focus.
The shimmering samples that mark the end of ‘Hot Grave’ signals the onset of one downright dirty bass-line that instantly engages, vocals drift in as if from some alien nightmare to create an almost palatable sense of madness and dread. As ‘Oktave Dokkter’ progresses, layer after layer of various esoteric instrumentation, noise and pounding tribal drums reaches critical level as they start to explore more familiar psyche territory, albeit it with a heavy dose of stoner rock. The heaviosity continues to increase before the foot is taken off the gas and we are thrown into the epic ‘How to Tell Time With Jesus’. This track will feel very familiar to long term fans of Hey Colossus, exploring Krautrock rhythms and utilising hallucinogenic use of vocal screams and whoops, noise and swirling guitars to create a veritable kaleidoscope of sonic vistas, deeply involving and reminiscent of the Melvin’s colliding head on with modern psych legends Gnod. A fantastic mix I am sure you will agree.
Then we head into the beast that is ‘Leather Lake’ – in my eye’s this is by far the best track on the album and that is no mean feat! It is monolithic in nature, the solid underlying riff repeats slowly and methodically before the pounding drums signal more crazed vocals commanding you to ‘go back to sleep’, this is however far from what you would be in the mood to do after hearing this. A cracking track and one that keeps getting repeated listens, leaving you marveling at its ability to create something truly mesmerizing through layering and some quite simplistic ritual like guitars and drums, insanely good and ridiculously heavy.
‘English Flesh’ stumbles through more straight up noise-rock territory, it’s a great track but after ‘Leather Lake’ it just does not come up to par for me it has to be said. That is not to slate it at all, it’s pure Colossus, but its bite has been tainted by the brilliance that preceded it. Things finally wind down with ‘Pit and Hope’ a gentle, yet majestic trip in psychedllia, shimmering guitars soothe as the bleak atmospherics weave their way throughout, a brilliant come-down from the intense pummeling you have just endured.
All in all, this is a very solid album, certainly a departure from earlier works, but they sound all the better for it, hopefully now they will finally get the recognition they deserve.
Label: MIE Music
Website: www.facebook.com/heycolossus
Scribed by: Todd Robinson
