Weirdship were one of the contenders in this year’s Prog Unsigned! competition, and if you like your prog with a funk-rock edge then their album’s well worth a listen. They’re based in Tampere, Finland, and bring with them an unabashed Nordic abandon that’s pretty far out there.
Opener Sister Speed Freak sets the tone – Jonas Von Titus’s funky drums, Matt Random’s slap bass and Make El Wierdo’s snatchy guitar create a sub-Chilli Peppers rhythm while frontman Dr Orsaken delivers an over-the-top theatrical vocal. V-Zeus-P’s honking sax adds to the retro, 50s tinge to reggae-flavoured Drive Thru Déjà Vu, while Stone strikes a gloomier tone with surreal lyrics (‘A million years ago I was a fucking mountain’).
The insistent 10-minute work Downtown Corridors is the best and proggiest song, a rocker with jarring time shifts and pleasingly odd guitar/organ unison lines. Again, Dr. Orsaken’s vocals will be the deal-maker or breaker here. Intense in parts, plain shrill in others, he’s aims for the quirk of a Peter Hammill with the lungs of a Serj Tankian; I bet he chews the stage up live.
Weirdship may not be fully-baked yet, but they’re spirited alright, and are coming to get us…
