Motorpsycho - The All Is One review

Any new music from Motorpsycho is cause for celebration, and this double album is packed with enough invention and vitality that it could have been two records. The All Is One is bookended by tracks recorded with regular collaborator Reine Fiske, while the middle section contains the N.O.X. suite, wherein the band is joined by Lars Horntveth from Jaga Jazzist, and Steamdome’s Ola Kvernberg. The tracks with Fiske boast gorgeous vintage tones and an emphasis on catchy refrains. The title song has an uplifting energy, and Dreams Of Fancy is an album highlight, enticing the listener the way sunbeams attract cats to relax in their warm embrace. Less concise but just as compelling, the five movements of N.O.X. let the band stretch out. Circles Around The Sun Part 1 is a reverb-drenched head trip while Night Of Pan swaps psychedelia for synthwave and a drum loop that recalls Stewart Copeland’s 80s theme for The Equalizer. In contrast, N.O.X. itself is succeeded by the crisp acoustic guitars of A Little Light. The Trondheim trio and their friends have crafted an album of real scope and diversity, spanning decades of styles and sounds. Impressive.