The All Is One. Motorpsycho

Once again, the beautiful artwork. Three albums in a row, showing that the band sees 'The Tower', 'The Crucible' and now The All is One as a consistent whole. Musically this certainly is the case. To be honest, I have a hard time to keep the individual songs apart when not listening to one of the albums.

Having said that, once again Motorpsycho washes over me as a musical tsunami. The force of the music is all encompassing, a brick wall stopping all else. On The All Is One Motorpsycho plays a few songs of force and length but there are also songs that are shorten and tender. In that sense the album becomes a modern day symphony. Only the returning theme is missing.

The All Is One is a huge piece of work. It is almost too much to take in in one go. Fans of the band will not be disappointed for one second, because everything that makes the band great is in here and at a high level of musicianship and inspiration to boot. Every little corner of a composition is explored, turned inside out, only to be reinvented once again. In the background "new" drummer Tomas Järmyr lays down a formidable foundation. The word background is to be taken in a very relative way on The All Is One. Järmyr plays in a relentless way, never tiring it seems as if drumming in such a powerful way does not cost any exertion. Like Joppe Molenaar in Bettie Serveert, Järmyr has given Motorpsycho a whole new leash on its musical life it seems. Over his drumming founding members Saether and Ryan can do all they like on guitar, bass, keyboards. And do, of course.

This is only one side to the band. Somehow Motorpsycho is able to produce the softest of songs as well, almost in a West Coast, CSNY kind of way with multi-layered harmonies. On The All Is One the experiment is taken to some softer passages as well, making them much more intriguing. This leads to a powerful Motorpsycho ballad like 'Dreams Of Fancy'. The dynamics in the song are just great and shows that Thomas Järmyr is able to show ultimate restraint, not playing at all, only to come back double when released giving tremendous power to some passages.

Fans of Motorpsycho all know this for years. How to get the multitudes to go and watch the band and come home with a stack of albums? It's a question I do not have an answer to. I am however convinced that there are more fans of this kind of music than those who have found the band so far. An only half, perhaps three quarters tops filled a smaller venue in Alkmaar two years ago attests to that notion. The band offers great powerful songs and a few beautiful ballads. It presents great, inspirational soloing that literally never bores me (and I am one for shorter powerful songs in general). So getting on the radio in the right programs is one prerequisite to grow. Shows where rock fans from 15 to 80 listen to. There will be room for great songs, even if they last close to 10 minutes.

With The All Is One Motorpsycho has added another great album to its oeuvre. The album holds all that makes the band so great. Working, playing and writing together for over 30 years, Motorpsycho has found out long ago where it is good at. The fact that the new album sounds so inspired and simply holding great songs, attests to the fact that the trio is still soaring high at the pinnacle of its talents. It even surprised me in part.

What the true value of The All Is One is time will have to tell. My first impression is that of a monumental album. How many bands can show such a verdict after being in business for 30 years? Motorpsycho can, for three studio albums in a row now.

Wo.

You can order The All Is One here:

https://www.stickman-records.com/shop/motorpsycho-the-all-is-one/


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g