Where does one even begin trying to offer a glimpse of the huge, planet-destroying force that is the band Natsumen. An Orchestra of joy. A free rock orgasm of sheer playing prowess and compulsive sound masses and melodic breakdown. This band hypnotizes, overwhelms and scintillates. That, added to their own self-descriptor, “Progressive HardCore JAZZ Aggressive Improvisation ROCK band.” and we’re getting close. For western ears, a quick reference might be an instrumental The Mars Volta, with some Dark Meat and some Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis.
Ostensibly, lead guitar wizard AxSxE was weary of playing guitar and the invariable cliches that can produce, so he would hum melodic lines to his 8-strong militia of impeccably skilled musicians and they would craft impulsively driven opuses that convolve and devolve dramatically, each song breaking apart only to rebound again in a spinning heady display of interlocking melodic beauty.
The effect of this album is completely visceral, a psychical response to the complexity of fugue like horn lines clamoring over waves of ultra fast and hard rhythm section, bisected by searing guitar squalls. It’s an event, one of those rare albums that is too big to be digested or appreciated in excised song-chunks, but must be surrendered to (although standout moments for these ears are the incredible riffs of “Plans to Kill ma August” and the all out instrumental sorcery of “Whole Lotta Summer”).
I love this band, they ride the wave of fresh and exciting music coming out of Japan.. if the North American music industry wasn’t so closed-minded and lame, we’d have more exposure to incredible bands like this from elsewhere on the globe, and they wouldn’t be as obscure as they are. Yeah I know you like fucking Melt-Banana, but seriously, put Natsumen onstage at a major North American festival and you might just hear the sound of a hundred thousand minds blowing at once.
