LE MUR – Keep Your Fear Away From Me (2023, LP/CD Otinane Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Otinane Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Colored Vinyl (Includes Post Card + Download Code), 300 copies

Format: CD, Album, Digi-Sleeve

Release Date: 26 May 2023

Le Mur, our beloved Psychedelic kraut-art-rock trio from Bochum, Germany, is back with “Keep Your Fear Away From Me” their 4^th album release (since 2013), but this time the band decided to release it themselves, a wise decision I may say… Le Mur who describes their music as “art rock somewhere between jazz and noise” consists of Janine on Bass and synthesizer, Georgios on Drums and percussion, and Matthias on Gitarre, Saxophon, Vocals and keyboards.

(Check our review of their previous album “Exorta” released in 2018 through Clostridium Records)

“Keep Your Fear Away From Me” is a concept album with 4 long tracks (in a total duration of 47:56min) that are divided into 3 sections/chapters: Praeterium, Praesentium, and Futura… Praeterium contains one track, the opener “…The Past Will Be Perfect…”, 15 epical minutes starting under a psych-ambient-like environment sooner to become – with the precious help of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s sampling voice – an out-of-this-world Kraut-a-delic anthem! The music provided by the band may look/sound improvisational but I must admit, it’s not! At least to my ears! It’s quite trippy, spacey, and progressive, a dreamy fascinating 15-minute journey into the inner folds of the daidalous human mind, a hallucinogenic TRIP capable enough to liquefy a huge amount of Brain Cells, simply, this is one of the best 15-minute tracks I’ve heard for a long time!!! And I must not forget to mention the outstandingly amazing 70s Miles Davis’ inspired Sax sounding! Also, I need to mention that Le Mur took official permission for using samples of a speech from philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti by England’s JK Foundation. The next chapter Praesentium contains 2 tracks, the first one is called “Today Is The Day / The Beauty Of Now”, it’s a 9:26min long trippy and space-a-delic anthem with a tremendous experimental Jazzy edge, starting slow becoming faster, flirting with Prog driving by a shimmering guitar sound, a track that reaches extremely higher sonic limits but somehow magically manages to ground safely, to a place where the birds always sing… The second track of Praesentium is the 11:18min trilogy “Another Life / Burning The Tree / I See You”, there’s a significant change in Le Mur’s attitude, this is a straight rocker filled with angst and pain, getting into a more Hard Rock territory (and less Prog-Rock) but they find a way not to lose their experimental way of processing the music, maybe it’s because of that Heaven-sent (inspired) Coltrane Sax sound, or because of that tribalistic percussion, but one thing is certain here, this Astonishing 3-piece band shoes an unbelievable and fascinating way to express their musical tastes and influences… After a while, the track is being transformed into a dynamic Jazz-Rock anthem! Trippy, Spacey, and super Jazz-a-delic! The last and third chapter Futura contains the 4-part 12:12min Suite entitled “…For The Puzzles Of The Future” (Part I: Digital Tears, Part II: There Is No Sky For Us, Part III: Peaceful Orient And Righteous West, Part IV: Keep Your Fear Away From Me). It starts under a sequencer-based electro-prog way sounding like a lost Vangelis synthesis from an abandoned futuristic movie, and then there’s Jiddu’s voice once more, acting as the medium for the track to be exploded/transformed into a Spacey-Heavy-Prog tune… Sooner, the mood changes again, becomes darker, and trippier, feels like entering deeply into the Deep Space, improvisational and quite experimental are spreading all over the place and I finally think that I understand what’s all about… The whole thing here acts like a huge “musical puzzle” with groovy colorful and shapeless pieces! What (another) TRIP!!! Go to Le Mur’s Bandcamp and ORDER IT NOW! One of the BEST albums of 2023!!! TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

Links

Get the album via LE MUR Bandcamp

Check LE MUR Official Web

Visit LE MUR Facebook