Krom Lek - "Collective Conscious"
Here at Krautrock Towers we'd like to think that we are open minded, recommending albums we believe will appeal to many Krautrock lovers whilst not directly being influenced by Tangerine Dream, Agitation Free, Can, et al. One such example that has fallen into our laps is Collective Conscious by Krom Lek, a little gem from Stone Premonitions, that will appeal to lovers of Hawkwind, Amon Duul 2, Steve Hillage and Ozric Tentacles everywhere! Opener Kromlek hits you like a ton of skunk weed falling on your head from 10,000 feet. The title track's flute and African sounding percussion over a digeridoo take our ears to Secrets of the Maze and Picking Rooms, both bringing to mind Here and Now's under-rated and hard to find Fantasy Shift. Step in Time is a funky little psychedelic rock number, Day Tuna is a joyous, almost Caribbean ditty. After some decidedly watery sounding sounds we are back into barnstorming hard rock territory again with Merfolk and Earth Energies, Hawkwind - eat your heart out! The Sun Shines Through has some of the most atmospheric Glissando guitar playing this side of an Angel's Egg (plus more digeridoo!), building up to a space rock frenzy climax of the album's last 3 tracks. Littered with ethnic references, CC never falls into world music or new age clichés, you would be hard pressed to find such a variety of styles happily sitting next to each other on a rock album, yet running so cohesively together. In theory Kromlek, if promoted in the right places, could match Ozric Tentacles or Hawkwind in the popularity stakes - stunning!
Nigel Pennington