Did we ever get a discussion about this going? I can’t remember – well, I didn’t at least, so here’s my two cents about ‘Molok’.
I was very surprised to hear about the release of this album – so soon after the monumental ‘Demon’ from 2014, Gazpacho swiftly returned to release their ninth LP. But was it too soon?
Honestly, there’s something missing from ‘Molok’ that I can’t quite put my finger on – it isn’t as awe-inspiring as ‘Demon’ was, or as spectacular as ‘Night’. It certainly has all the elements of a Gazpacho album, a grand concept encompassing the entire record, eerie folk-infused art rock and even bohemian instrumentation – perhaps shown best in the phenomenal ‘Bela Kiss’; if there is one thing that’s jaw-dropping about this album, it’s this song. Maybe that’s the issue, I find my memory of the latter half of the album to be very hazy – the last few tracks blur together into an intangible and indistinguishable art prog soup. It’s not bad, it just doesn’t stick – every second of the 19-minute ‘Death Room’ from ‘Demon’ was more memorable than the last third of ‘Molok’, I found.
It’s not a weak album by any means; the instrumentation is as strong as ever and ‘Molok’ is certainly a lot stronger than most albums I’ve heard from this year – but it is a Gazpacho album which will unfortunately be overshadowed by its predecessors.
What do you guys think? Did you listen to this album, or have it slip through your fingers like I admittedly did? Is it an iconic Gazpacho album on par with ‘Night’ and ‘Demon’? Let’s hear your opinion in the comments!
Favourite Tracks: ‘Park Bench’ and ‘Bela Kiss’ – 7.6/10
Post originally published on the Prog Talk FB page on 30/11/2015 by ~Cerpin Taxt.
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