![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/donovans_brain_chiem.jpg\")
I\u2019ve reported on and\/or reviewed the music of Donovan\u2019s Brain on multiple occasions over the last decade or so. While I seem to have missed some of their releases, I\u2019m on record as recommending at least three of the ones I did know about. And the latest is no exception, even though it\u2019s remarkably different from past efforts by this group.<\/p>\n
As the accompanying press one-sheet explains, the band paused during the making of its next release, pivoting instead to craft the soundtrack to a Vietnamese film by a director who works under the name Mr. Tam. Perhaps oddly, the music for this film \u2013 released as Chi\u00eam Bao Tha\u0302\u0301y Ba\u0323\u0302u<\/i> \u2013 doesn\u2019t have a Southeast Asian character. Instead it\u2019s inspired by classic krautrock like Cluster, Harmonia, Kraftwerk and Neu!<\/p>\n
The set opens with a string synth figure, vaguely reminiscent of the Mellotron opening of \u201cStrawberry Fields Forver\u201d but with a character closer to Tangerine Dream. The moody and evocative \u201cI Am Not\u201d follows, serving up a more conventionally musical character, an aural soundscape that falls between spaghetti western and shoegaze. Genty sung English-language vocals steer the music in a more familiar direction, but there\u2019s something enduring exotic about the tune.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnexion Compl\u00e8te\u201d explores sonic territory closer to Kraftwerk. \u201cUnexpected\u201d sounds a bit like Ultravox crossed with krautrock, adding a dash of \u201860 southern California cowboy psych. \u201cHolding My Own\u201d is dramatic movie music of the sort Pink Floyd crafted for Michelangelo Antonioni, but it adds a busy vocal line that takes the song in a different direction.<\/p>\n
The soundtrack alternates between vocal and instrumental tracks, and on the whole, I give the edge to the non-vocal ones, and they convey more of an air of mystery. \u201cCultured Memory\u201d is a fine example of this. \u201cKnives\u201d could easily pass itself off as a deep cut from an Amon D\u00fc\u00fcl II record. \u201cA Story in a Story\u201d is a dreamy, contemplative cut that draws the listener inward; the lead guitar work is lovely. \u201cI Don\u2019t Dream Anymore\u201d is a vocal cut that might have worked better as an instrumental, but it still a wonderfully effective piece of musical mood-making.<\/p>\n
The collection ends with the most overtly krautrocky track, the nine-plus minute \u201cDes Formes Qui Chagent Lentement.\u201d This hypnotic piece ebbs, flows, surges, recedes, creating a mystical aura with sonic connection to early-early Tangerine Dream. While the whole album is solid, this closing track is the point at which Donovan\u2019s Brain truly fulfills upon the promise of 21st<\/sup> century krautrock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve reported on and\/or reviewed the music of Donovan\u2019s Brain on multiple occasions over the last decade or so. While I seem to have missed some of their releases, I\u2019m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,43,49,65],"tags":[704],"class_list":["post-23444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie","category-krautrock","category-new-release","category-review","tag-donovans-brain","cat-39-id","cat-43-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23444"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23496,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23444\/revisions\/23496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}