Review: Kuunatic - Kuurandia

Now this is a bloody marvellous little gem of an EP. Outside of an email I received from the band I know very little about Kuunatic except they are a trio of Japanese girls who play "traditional Japanese music, Latin music, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, dub music, horror film soundtrack music etc and expresses their outlandish world created out of impulse." I notice from their Facebook page that they have supported Dhidalah and have the mighty Hibushibire playing at the EP launch party. All of this demanded some attention and so I duly obliged and I'm bloody glad I did.

Just the four songs on the EP, all around the 5 minute mark but together making up one of the most enjoyable 20 mins you will spend. 'Distant Song' kicks things off with some swirling psych guitar chords and pulsing bass setting us up, we think, for a deep and plaintive tract of music. However, some playful stabs of electronica and some wonderful primal drumming change the vibe altogether. Throw in some shamanic vocals and you have a wonderful track full of mischievous depth and clever sleight of hand. The band have the full toolkit of tricks...a guitar that morphs from psych to post-punk/goth and back again, shimmering keyboards and a three-way vocal line-up that sounds as innocent as it does threatening. 'Spiral Halt' is heralded by a keyboard refrain straight from a horror movie (maybe speeded up a tad) and the girls' vocals again sound very post-punk. Halfway through the track changes...the tempo drops and the sound of ethnic Japanese instruments take centre stage, changing the whole atmosphere...possibly becoming more foreboding and eerie. Just when you are processing this, another change, this time some heavy duty dub takes over. The combination of dub and the Japanese vocals is a heady mix indeed. This eventually come full circle but to cram so much in five or so minutes in such a seamless manner is impressive to say the least. 'Kuulanding' opens with more indigenous instrumentation and the now familiar vocals but these are soon joined by a throbbing dub bassline and an increase in tempo. It sounds like a tribal dreampop song...the mix of the old and the dreamy is an infectious one and the dub bass adds an edge to it all. Around the 3 minute mark there is a neat little breakdown signaled by a peel of thunder followed by bird song then something sublime...exotic Japanese music complete with primal drums and those dreamy vocal....simple but highly effective. The last 30 seconds are taken up with something that is pure Italian horror soundtrack from the seventies...and that alone is nectar to a bee for me. This segues neatly into the last track, 'Battle Of Goddesses' - more soundtrack vibes with a punishing tribal/post punk rhythm and a more strident vocal attack. It obviously wasn't gonna stay that way all the way through...and lo and behold a piercing scream signals another change in direction...this time slower and the sounds of a fairground Wurlitzer sounding keyboard and martial drums sees the track out.

This is a whacked out, 'out of it's tree' EP but I love it! It's incessantly imaginative and it seems as though every minute holds something new; a change in tempo or instrumentation or, indeed, a whole change in direction. It wears its influences on its sleeve and that's no bad thing. They quite masterfully mix and meld psychedelia, post-punk, dream pop, dub, soundtracks and traditional Japanese music into something completely new and original. I really hope that an album is forthcoming soon.....it will be a thing of wonder and joy! 'Kuurandia' is available from the band's Bandcamp page here as a download and CD.