CHICKENCAGE EXPERIENCE (An Eggspoiltation Movie) 2LP + DVD/2CD + DVD
Hidden behind the strange name CHICKENCAGE EXPERIENCE is the psychoactive German kraut-a-delic band Polytoxicomane Philharmonie, who teamed up with Austrian singer MichaeLa Flame to record a free improvisational shroom trip. I call it shroom trip because this is the story of Spacecop Goodbad who finds the extra-terrestrial crocodile Kroko Redd - and that's just for starters. This very much reminds me of weird lysergic hippie tales from the late 1960s/early 1970s, but also the music of CHICKENCAGE EXPERIENCE is very strongly oriented towards this time without being overtly backward-looking. Despite all improvisation, 'An Eggspoiltation Movie' is no cacophonous assault on all the senses, but an almost tightly structured album that consists of six songs.
But as the album title already suggests, this package includes not only the music but also a DVD of the movie that has a total duration of almost 98 minutes. I have to admit that I was not that impressed with the flic, but I'm able to appreciate that the involved musicians as well as video artist Le Düd have put their heart and soul into this movie. Moreover, it's well executed and fits perfectly to the music. So, back to the CD. The opener 'The Eternal End' is the shortest track of all six with a length of 9:30 minutes while 'The Owl, The Bell And The Club Of Veterans' is the longest cut with 17:35 minutes.
With this in mind, it should be clear that CHICKENCAGE EXPERIENCE take their time to embellish their songs with plenty of sonic details and numerous influences. Psychedelica, space- and progressive rock as well as world music and jazz have been merged to form an organic and harmonious unit where the two female vocalists play an important role. But unfortunately they tend to overdo it in certain moments. For this - I call them esoteric-tinged - moments I need a lot of patience and endurance because it doesn't hit my tastes. Especially 'Lascivious Dungeon Tales' taxes my patience and I always feel the need to press the skip button on my player.
But overall I really enjoy what CHICKENCAGE EXPERIENCE is doing here. The songs are full of nice ideas and sometimes it's hard to believe that everything is fully improvised, because the songs often give the impression of being precisely arranged . But I think the reason for this is more that we have a bunch of well-educated musicians here. Small wonder, therefore, that the album has an excellent flow just like a good story. All in all, 'An Eggspoiltation Movie' is a hypnotic trip into a strange and hippie-eque world. This is real dim-the-lights, put-on-the-headphones, fire-up-a-reefer music here. CHICKENCAGE EXPERIENCE may not break any new ground, but they have much more to offer than most of today's overvalued 1970s rock revivalists.
(KK)
www.facebook.com/pages/The-chickencage-experience/292626520787749