Review: Charlottas Burnin' Trio (CB3) - From Nothing To Eternity

When a promo pops into your inbox saying a band are influenced by "King Crimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Magma, CAN and NEU!" it kinda makes you sit up and take notice. Sometimes these sort of claims are tenuous to say the least, but this particular promo came courtesy of Eggs In Aspic, a label that, in the space of little under a year, I've come to admire and, more importantly, trust. Every release has been a winner, typically taking a walk on the weirder and sometimes startling side of psych. CB3 are a Swedish instrumental psych jam band who have been plying their trade since 2013. The band comprises of Charlotta Andersson (guitar), Jonas Nilsson (double bass) and Nathanael Salomonsson (drums) and 'From Nothing To Eternity' is their debut album and I, for one, hope there are many many more to come! It also sees Eggs In Aspic collaborate with Swedish label Lazy Octopus.

Things start off nice and slow with 'Meditation', two minutes of sheer bliss, all shimmering cymbals and folky guitar and acts as a lovely amuse bouche for the monster that is the title track, 'From Nothing To Eternity'. A lot has been made of late, on these pages and others, of Swedish psychedelia...the likes of Kungens Män, Hills, Flowers Must Die, among others, all releasing fantastic material and channeling the spirit of their spiritual forefathers Träd, Gräs & Stenar. With 'From Nothing To Eternity' CB3 show that they are more than up to the task, surpassing it even. This track is a wonder...psychedelic jamming at its very best...the ease and expertise with which Charlotta wields her guitar is something to behold and is more than ably backed by Nathanael's crashing drums and the double bass of Jonas. My question is this: if these guys have been playing music of this quality since 2013, why are they not held with the same reverence as Kungens Män, Hills etc (deservedly) are? 'Rogue' sees things take a slight turn towards progressive rock...the structure and vibe is pure seventies prog but with a distinct psychedelic edge and an almost jazzy feel to it, especially the groovy pulse of the double bass. Again the guitar is the star, veering between white hot riffage and more sedate atmosphere building. 'Beware The Wolf' is all about the drums...a resonant pattern is beaten out over which Charlotta traces spacey lines with her guitar. It opens up after 3 or so minutes into another top class psychedelic jam with some prog overtones but the guitar remains muted somewhat to allow the drums to shine through. 'Elixir Of Life' is heralded by some bucolic, evocative guitar that continues to weave a filigree tapestry throughout the track. After the power of the preceding tracks this more gentle psychedelic outing is an oasis of calm and beauty but then segues into the frenetic opening to 'Awakening'. Taking its cue very much from the title track, 'Awakening' is another lesson in jamming...spacey guitar, crashing drums and throbbing bass...for psych lovers this music is manna from heaven! There is a neat little breakdown midtrack that allows Jonas to really show his prowess with the double bass...an instrument not oft heard on in these circles. A truly great track. The album goes full circle, closing with 'Meditation II' - another blissed out instrumental that verges on psych folk and is another 3 minutes of sheer beauty. A fine way to close an exceptional album.

'From Nothing To Eternity' is a real gem of an album...an album that once again shows that Sweden is the place to be with regard to top notch psych jamming. Kudos to Eggs In Aspic & lazy octopus for bringing us this beauty because it is an album that needs to be heard and, indeed, any traveler along the psychedelic highway NEEDS this in their life. As previously alluded to, how this band are not lauded is beyond me but hopefully this release will change that and CB3 become permanent fixtures on psych's top table. That's the good news.....the bad news is that the tape pretty much sold out in a day on pre-order from Eggs In Aspic! However, when the digital download goes live on release day, jump in, seriously you won't regret it (and you never know, there may be re-issue)..head to the Eggs In Aspic Bandcamp page. Lazy Octopus in Sweden are also all over this release so swing by their Bandcamp page also (they may have some tapes left!)