Review: Vibravoid - Vibrations From The Cosmic Void

Vibravoid are one of the most prolific, and consistent, bands working today. As well as releasing a steady flow of top notch albums they also run a record label (Stoned Karma) and contribute regularly to Fruits de Mer (their 'Steppin' Stone' 7" on FdM is still one of my favourite cover versions ever!). The aforementioned flow of music shows no immediate sign of abatement with the release of 'Vibrations From The Cosmic Void'...an album that, while I am no cognescenti of the band, must be one of their strongest to date.

'Vibrations From The Cosmic Void Part II' kicks things off with a heady swirl of 60s tinged psychedelia. Layers of fuzz complemented by some groovy organ set the scene for some heavily reverbed vocals...it's deep and it's trippy and a fine start to any album. 'The Modular System' is where things get really good. An instrumental, the track cleverly takes in more sixties psych and some seventies krautrock...a strong motorik rhythm sits behind some psychy and repetitive riffs and the result is something akin to a groovy spy movie soundtrack except ramped up by several notches. A neat segue sees the introduction of 'Melodies Of The Stars' which is an absolute monster. Again rooted in krautrock, it has a real sense of space, both literally and figuratively, with some cosmic electronica and some lovely psych guitarwork coming together to create something rather special. 'The Intergalactic Playground' is a huge, meandering number that really does have it all. Following a heavily electronic intro, all drones and oscillating rhythms, an eastern melody (a Vibravoid staple) is introduced, giving everything a real 'in the ashram' vibe. What follows is an immersive and trippy journey taking in spacerock, prog and krautrock...all intensely psychedelic. Nearer the end it takes another turn and veers off into something far more pastoral with the spacey synths and whirling guitars giving way to a more bucolic, folky atmosphere...moving from intergalactic to something earthbound and organic..it truly is a magnificent piece of music. The LP is rounded off by the (much) shorter 'Frequencies Of The Cosmos' which is more of a spacerock/psych cameo. For those that get the CD there are two bonus tracks - 'Mirrorspace' which is a captivating and experimental track full of oscillating electronica and crashing percussion and 'Milchstrasse 14, Koln' which sees the band channel their inner Tangerine Dream / Vangelis in a sublime kosmische workout. All in all, 'Vibrations From The Cosmic Void' is a fantastic album, and as I mentioned, possibly one of the band's strongest to date.

It is worth mentioning that at the same time the band are releasing 'Live At Rheinkraut Festival' on CD and download. 2 CDs and 2 tracks...you do the maths! Huge live versions of 'Your Mind Is At Ease' and 'Ballspeaker' show that the band are an awesome prospect live. The album is also included in the super limited package of 'Vibrations From The Cosmic Void'.

The album is available from Stoned Karma here and comes, as mentioned, with the live album in a special edition; a standard edition on special coloured vinyl as well as CD and download.