Release Date: May 05th 2023. Record Label: Riot Season Records and Echodelick Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Atom Sphere: Tracklisting
1.Sun Steals
2.High Standing Galactic Healing
3.Roll Away Your Shadow
4.Beastronics
5.Neptune Seller
6.Transmigration Of Souls
Members
Mitsuru Tabata
Mike Vest
Dave Sneddon
Review
Atom Sphere is the debut album from Experimental Psychedelic Noise/Space/Sludge Rock unit MODOKI featuring the unique creative talents of Mitsuru Tabata, Dave Sneddon and Mike Vest. The band could be considered a “Supergroup” of sorts with each member being part of some legendary bands within the underground experimental Psych/Noise Rock scene.
Atom Sphere has a more sludgy atmosphere to the album than I initially anticipated. The music is constantly moving forward to the next level of distorted NOISE ROCK paranoia especially on the excellent batch of opening songs of Sun Steals, High Standing Galactic Healing and Roll Away Your Shadow.
MODOKI brings a warped and heavily distorted use of Noise Rock, Psych Rock and Space Rock that lasts through the album. Purely instrumental and offering areas of Classic Hard Rock throughout the ages but with a sense of freaky exploration with the non-stop use of Guitar Reverb and Amplifier Feedback being their main weapon of choice to play music with.
There is also a JAZZY feeling to MODOKI’s overall sound with screeching guitars that are mostly extended instrumental progressive grooves which allows the band to move into other areas of Experimental Sludge Rock. Most of the songs have similar creative dynamics which MODOKI play with wild abandonment and making their own rules along the way especially on the later stages on the album with tracks such as Roll Away Your Shadow and Beastronics.
The most impressive thing about this album is how wonderfully diverse and heavy MODOKI appear to be. The music is constantly shifting focus but also offering the listener familiar hooks and instrumental jams to give them an easy way into their dark world.
If you’re a hardcore fan of the members other bands then you’re going to love this like I did. The more casual listener may need convincing. As MODOKI do play too many different styles of music which I struggled with at first. However, after a few more listens I began to appreciate the album a whole lot more especially with the mellower and freakier parts of the album that brings an air of 1970’s Psych Rock and classic Shoegaze effects into the mix.
Production values are quite surreal but superbly done from start to finish that allows MODOKI to play highly volatile blasts of SONIC based grooves that has a sense of 1960’s Hard Rock bands such as MC5 being used at times or perhaps folks can compare MODOKI to that legendary band at the height of their creative powers.
Atom Sphere is a spellbinding and outlandish debut album from MODOKI and will impress by the sheer amount of catchy aggressive grooves the band play and leave you fully satisfied.
Hopefully there’s more to come from MODOKI in the future and considering the musicians involved, I’m fully confident we’ll hear them sooner rather than later. This is a first rate release. Pure and simple.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Mike Vest and Riot Season Records for the promo.
