01	Coily						07:19
	02	Xingu						07:27
	03	Waterfall City						11:03
	04	Ch'ai						05:03
	05	Spiralmind						11:40
	06	Sultana Detrii						09:17
	07	Aura Borealis						05:40

Ed - guitars, synths, tendril manipulation
Seaweed - synth, whoopz, fizzles
Zia - bass & shapiness
John - flutes & twirlings
Rad - drum puondings

WATERFALL CITIES

Ed and his merry minstrels provide another 7 windows of musical beauty that tickles the aural lobes transcending normative musical structures with mellifluous tones that harmonise and massage the mind. This meticulous musical masterpiece sees the Ozrics delineate a harder production style with a prime example depicted on the climax to opening track 'Coily' as the drums explode out of the speakers in an orgasmic musical frenzy during the coda. Sexual overtones aside, 'Xingu' contains a memorable melodic keyboard line that is so distinctive that erasure from the portholes of the mind is futile. The maelstrom of rhythmic loops, guitar crescendos and layered keyboard textures that comprise the title track encompass a cornucopia of sonic sounds with a distinctive interlocking musical passages to provide an 11 minute transcrioption of one of the best Ozric tracks ever to grace a musical medium. 'Spiralmind' transports the listener to the Far East with a spicy keyboard inflection dominating throughout with images of Chinese junks and setting suns that pacifies the mind, especially after the full-on throttle of the preceding tracks. 'Sultana Destrii' is primarily a vehicle for bass pyrotechnics as typically the band embellish and colour this piece as the bass grooves, dances and gyrates throughout. The track is enhanced by the vibe of cool underplaying that allows each player to explore and expand their musical repertoire, The concluding 'Aura Borealis' soothes the soul as the music depicts the Northern Lights, (from which one assumes the title is taken), as the ambient soundscapes the Ozrics utilise slowly release the listener into a state of oneness and contentment as the rhythmic pulses slow to a tranquil beat.

Yet another masterful display of vocal-free musical beauty that fully denounces the dilettantes proclaiming the essentialism of chorus-laden pop fodder.

Gary Niederhoff:
From the liners: "So here you go... Seven more windows into colourful worlds for all to wrap around the harmonic sensors! Instrumental pathways sprialling off into realms not often encountered but definitely conducive to free mind travel. A blending of natural and not so natural sounds to create places in which to dwell momentarily in a state of blissful otherness! To tread these astral strands often feels a little precarious: but we like it!!! The journey continues..."
For me, Ozric music has always been about presenting instrumental pathways and spiraling off into realms conducive to free mind travel. From disc to disc, the destination is always about the same, but the various approaches, or pathways, develop as the band evolves. The blending of natural and not so natural sounds is an Ozric hallmark, and their use of synthesizers, whoopz & fizzles, coupled with severe tendril manipulation are so defining as to stitch each Ozric composition together into a massive sonic quilt of astral strands.
Each release is like an annual chocolate sampler. There are some nuts, some chews and the occasional crиme, as well as, unfortunately, the bitter and nauseating reggae number they feel obligated to include with each release. I might have chosen any Ozric CD for review based on this assessment, but I actually found Waterfall Cities to be the most diverse and entertaining album. Even "Sultana Detrii", which flirts with the trite reggae bit for a short spell, morphs into an ethereal treat as delectable as the rest of the disc.
Waterfall Cities seems to escape the monotony of many Ozric records, avoiding predictability as well as fad by introducing new sounds which develop the eccentric textures that have always been characteristic of the Ozric fold. The first two tracks invoke energy with a fury wholly new to the Ozric sound, and "Ch'ai" exhibits qualities of eastern traditional music, set to a groove which acts as the vehicle from which these foreign worlds are being sonically viewed. Even the quieter moments later in the record present a more dramatic and internally focused aspect of the Ozric output than I've noticed before. This is by far the most complete and rounded Ozric release yet, and gave me a whole new appreciation for their existence.
If you're curious about Ozric Tentacles and don't know where to start, I strongly recommend this disc. To those for whom the Ostrich Testicles will always be a two bit synth-psyche operation churning out vapid ear candy for stoned hippies, don't bother.



Ed Wynne, guitars, synths, tendril manipulations; Seaweed, synths, whoopz, fizzles; Zia Geelani, bass, snapiness; John Egan, flutes, twirlings; Rad, drum poundings


=============

Ozric Tentacles - Waterfall Cities
Country of Origin: UK
Format: CD
Record Label: Strechy
Catalogue #: CD1
Year of Release: 1999

Two years after releasing the wonderful Curious Corn album, the Ozrics were back in 1999 with Waterfal Cities, a new album with 7 tracks. The music by this band is very enchanting and conjures up lots of moods and mental pictures. At one time you feel like you're a guest of the Japanase emperor, at another time you're floating through the clouds, only to come down again in an oriental temple or a dance club !

Coily is a typical Ozric Tentacles track that features a strange time signature and a wonderful pumping bass. After the guitar solo in the first section, the middle bit brings us lots of oriental rhythms and instruments like flute and something that sounds like a sitar. The song ends with a heavy synth section and a rather abrupt ending. Nice track, but nothing really new; standard Tentacle stuff.

Xingu is an atmospheric piece with a good groove. There's a nice bass line and a good guitar(-synth ?) melody. Unfortunately there's not enough happening to keep the song interesting for 7+ minutes. After a couple of minutes it gets a bit boring. The slightly annoying loud keyboard twiddle that continuously gets repeated doesn't help either.

Waterfall City is quite something different. It features loads of electronics and after some guitar sounds it starts of with synths and fast sequencers. It evolves into a very uptempo dancey track that probably wouldn't do bad in clubs. In the second half the volume dies down and a quiet atmospheric part with xylophone-like keyboards starts. After lots of trance-like sounds the volume builds up again with more sequencers and the snirping sounds we got to know from Sploosh. It's a long track, but it succeeds in staying interesting. People that love both prog and electronic dance music will love this one.

The pace slows down for Ch'ai?, which brings us lots of Japanese keyboard melodies, interrupted by short breaks of silence. The track also features some a-rhythmic sections and an Ozricish guitar solo. It's not one of my favorite tracks because it misses the energy I like so much in the music of the Ozrics.

Things go a bit down the hill with Spiralmind. It starts of rather slow, but with some great bass soloing, followed by something that sounds like an acoustic guitar. Unfortunately this long track sounds like a spontaneous live jam that misses a good structure and in which not much is happening. The volume increase and nice guitar solo in the end section cannot save this long track.

Sultana Detrii is an interesting piece that starts with a reggae/dub melody on bass and keys. More atmospheric keyboards and flute follow. After some weird animal noises the track moves into a second half that has a more Floydian or Porcupine Tree-like feel.

The album ends with Aura Borealis, a rather boring new age-like track with a spacey, trance mood. Probably nice for relaxing but nothing to get excited about.

I really like the music by Ozric Tentacles, but unfortunately some of the objectives I've had in the past regarding their music are all too present on this album; some tracks are too long, too repetitive or there's just not enough happening to keep them interesting. Coily, Waterfall Cities and Sultana Detrii are okay, but the rest is rather mediocre. Nowhere does the music reach the level of some of the old classics that can for instance be heard on Spice Doubt. Besides the more electronic approach in Waterfall Cities the band seems to repeating itself; most of the stuff on this new CD has been done in the past already.

Conclusion: 7- out of 10.

Ed Sander