Black Flower - Magma (2022)
The five-piece Belgium natives return for their fifth album with a brain-melting eight-track masterpiece that runs 45 minutes long. To put this album in the jazz, world music, or psych genre boxes would be a disservice to anyone reading this, So I seek only to liken it to its roots and draw parallels to things I know. It feels like a Jethro Tull, Mort Garson, Badbadnotgood supergroup, instrumentally magnificent, yet doesn’t dottle on any one groove or idea. The Jazz flute, heavy-handed synth, and phenomenal drumbeats drive the album, while the bass holds rhythm, leaving only room for sax solos and unique percussion. The sense of space and imaging in this recording had me diving into their previous releases(also excellent). My two favorite tracks are the ever-so-engaging album opener “Magma” and the knob turning psychedelic journey “Deep Down Dive”
*Highly recommend night listening with nightly vices.