Review: Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers ‘Into The Center Of The Cat’s Eye Nebula’

8th January 20258th January 2025 Lee Beamish Lay Bare Recordings, Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers, Prog, Psych

Well, hey there avid readers, it’s so great to see you, welcome to 2025, the year that hopefully breaks the cycle of the eternal Groundhog Day that was the last four years. A year which holds some tentative hope of some improvement for sure, where the only real positive of last year was an overabundance of quality music from all around the globe.

Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers 'Into The Center Of The Cat's Eye Nebula' Artwork

Before I hammer home the final nail in the coffin that is the corpse of 2024, there’s one last little nugget of gold that needs extracting and holding aloft for all to see. That is the release of Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers incredibly eclectic new thrill ride Into The Centre Of The Cat’s Eye Nebula. It’s a quirky beast of an album, which slipped under the radar but couldn’t go into the wild for too long without drawing some attention.

Originally out a couple of weeks into December of 2024, released on the marvellous Lay Bare Recordings, this seven-track trip into the ’60s and ’70s psychedelia will leave you absolutely flabbergasted if you are willing to take a ride on this magical medicine ride. It feels equally as fresh as it does retro, splicing high octane passages with trippy Pink Floyd-esque soundscapes.

One thing is for sure, this Belgian wizardry knows no limits and pushes the very fabric of space and time in an effort to give the most mind-melding experience possible. Yes, it’s complete with some crazy concepts, and equally majestic track titles, Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers are here to turn your mind to mush.

Opening with Docking Scene, a trippy little intro if ever there was one, we get our first real glimpse into the band’s full potential as the track warms up, and by its climax, it is all falling into place and ready to usher in track two, Titan Arum.

Now, this is where things really heat up. A sultry number, smooth like treacle, yet smoky like reefer. It effortlessly rolls through the speakers, and just when it seems this will be the whole piece, soaring guitar interjects, and lifts things up into the ether. It’s a heady cocktail, eclectically smooth when warranted, and urgent when necessary. It’s an incredible aural workout, which will leave you hungry for more.

This is the point where things take a real turn into the surreal. Mr. Goblin Found The Electric Sugar is every bit as audacious as you would expect it to be considering the title. Trippy, fuzzy, and mind blowing in equal measure, there’s only one way to experience this piece, and that’s loudly. An absolute triumph to witness, this track utterly proves just how incredible this band are.

Trippy, fuzzy, and mind blowing in equal measure…

Gone Once More brings things full circle and drops back into a far sultrier affair. Somewhat dreamy, this one is for all those of you out there who crave a sexy little aftertaste to your musical experience. Incredibly cool, Mojo et al really do pull out all the stops to elevate this one into Barry White territory…

With Trail Of The Space Sasquatch we are drawn into a crazy sixties’ krautrock arena, with luxurious sonic textures, and an awe-inspiring energy that sets this track apart from elsewhere on the album. This is the band at their most abrasive, more dangerous, dirtier, and altogether raunchier in mood.

By the time the penultimate track Departures floats in, I’m starting to wonder if the band have any tricks left up their collective sleeves, but that fear was unnecessarily misguided. Whereas elsewhere on the album it’s all been about high-octane, fast-paced anthems, on Departures it’s all about minimalism. Absent are the wailing guitars and breakneck bass rumblings, not even a tickle of drums, it’s all about atmosphere and intensity, as the intermittent piano tantalises around the monologued vocal as the focus is on dark moody goodness this time around.

As the title track, Into The Centre Of The Cat’s Eye Nebula, wafts in to finish the opus off in style, the softened drum guides the tempo, slow, soft and smooth, its main purpose is to hypnotise us into a cocoon of marshmallowy soft dreamy clouds. By the time the delicate vocal begins intoxicating, it’s the equivalent of a siren song, beckoning us to a lusciously turbulent climax.

This is where those Pink Floyd elements really shine through, and the legacy of that band’s influence is noted in a spiritual homage kinda way. It isn’t without polar opposites either and as the piece fully opens out, those thoughts dissipate as a louder, more urgent overload blows forth and exposes their passion once and for all.

Coming away from this experience, it has given me a newfound love for this proggy psych-rock sound, which I owe entirely to Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers. Their attention to mood, vibe, and details has made this a magical experience, one of with I will be able to enjoy time and time again.

Welcome to 2025, a year for new experiences, and if you have any sense, you will Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers for sure.