Review: Comacozer - Astra Planeta

You may remember some time back I waxed lyrical about the 'Deloun Sessions' by Aussie band Comacozer (read it here). Well, they are back with another awesome album, rich in fuzz, riffs and atmosphere and is epic to the max. It marks an evolution for the band, straying more into psych/space rock territory but, as if wanting to prove Darwin correct, evolution is good! The vinyl version will again be released by Headspin, who obviously recognise a very good thing when they see (hear) it!

The forty plus minutes length of the album is comprised of just 5 tracks, kicking off with 'Saurian Dream'. Right from the get go, with the fuzzy, slow riffs and ringing psych guitar, you know you are gonna righteously dig this. The band describe the album as 'dark psychedelic space doom' and 'Saurian Dream' is certainly the more psychedelic end of that; there are times when the guitar rings clear and just shouts 'psychedelia' but has just a hint of spaceyness...many 'stoner' and 'doom' outfits describe their music as psychedelic, but these guys are the real deal. 'The Mind That Feeds The Eye' starts with some spacey effects before that chiming psych guitar kicks in again, accompanied by a langourous bassline. I was a huge fan of the 'Deloun Sessions' LP but this time around the guys seem to be experimenting with their style a tad, and the results are effective - the onus, thus far, is on the psych, forgoing the heavier doom stylings of yore. Certainly, on 'The Mind...' they evoke a spacey, almost languid, atmosphere that lulls the listener into a reverie of hazy psych....I love this track! 'Navigating The Mandjet' (fact fans - a mandjet is a solar barge used by the Egyptian sun god Ra), continues in the same vein as the first tracks; heavy on the psych and the cosmic, but there is a distinct middle eastern vibe to proceedings, which adds a whole new dimension...there is a distinct krautrock vibe going on as well. 'Illumination Cloud' wraps up all of the above nicely....dreamy psych, some cosmic spaceyness and some more middle eastern vibes but what is different is that this track seems rooted in the seventies, certainly the first 3 or 4 minutes...there is retro feel, a nostalgic nod rather than a tired rehash. The last half of the track picks up and the fuzz quotient is upped and it becomes possibly the best space rock I've heard this year....the guitar positively soars, ably accompanied by the bass/drums combo...majestic stuff indeed. The album is brought to a close by 'Hypnotized By Apophis' (another Egyptian mythology reference....or is it? Apophis is also the name of an near-earth asteroid). This is the longest track at over eleven minutes and goes through three distinct stages. The first 4 or so minutes the band let loose with the doom...it has the same fuzzy heaviness as, say, Electric Wizard...all downtuned guitars and heady, heavy psychedelic stylings. This evolves into the now familiar space rock territory for the middle 'section' before morphing back to finish in the same fuzzy, heavy as fuck riffage...a satisfying conclusion to an ace album.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.....there are some amazing bands coming out of Australia at the moment....I dunno whether it's the weather, the beer, the continuing demise of their test team (sorry...had to slip that in!) or what, but it's working. 'Astra Planeta' is a truly epic album full of heady psychedelia, heavy fuzz and spacey meanderings across the cosmos. If this doesn't end up as one of my top ten faves of 2016, then the year has been truly amazing. The album will be available on vinyl (180gsm coloured vinyl with gatefold sleeve with amazing artwork from Danny Graham) from Headspin Records in September and the download can be got now from the band's Bandcamp page here