Cosmic Fall joins the space race, releases In Search Of Outer Space

Cosmic Fall found themselves in a unique situation coming into the creation of the new record, In Search Of Outer Space, having to replace departed guitarist Mathias Rosmann.  Enter Martin Morawski.  He joins the founding rhythm section of Daniel Sax (drums) and Klaus Friedrich (bass/vocals) on one of the band's most ambitious releases to date, In Search Of Outer Space.

I tried to familiarize myself with Cosmic Fall's back catalog of work before launching into my review of the new record and I must admit some frustration.  At the insistence of Rosmann, the band has removed its previous releases from its Bandcamp page so I had to look elsewhere for  material.  From 2016's debut First Fall I was only able to track down two tunes, "Sun Of a Gun" and "Jam I."  From the 2017 follow up Kick Out the Jams, I found three tracks, "Earthfull," "Interstellar Junction," and "Cosmic Conclusion."  Finally, from the Cosmic Fall/Apodyl Starsplit I was only able to run down the song "Overhead Intelligence."  I wanted t at least be passingly familiar with the body of work the band had produced with its previous axeman so I could see how it has grown with the addition of Morawski.  Well, I'm here to report, the band's guitar duties are in safe hands indeed.  I heard hints of some of the greats while listening to In Search Of Outer Space, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour (particularly during "Purification") and Saint Jimi to name a few.  The band hasn't just replaced a guitarist, I believe they have taken a step forward in songcraft from what I was able to sample and I think Morawski is a fine fit.

On to the album.

"Jabberwocky" connects instantly.  It's a tale of swordplay and weed worship, wrapped in low pitched, swirling psych guitar.
   
          "He knows she comes with vorpal sword
          And he is praying to the lord
          The only thing that still remains
          Is smoking weed in wasteland plains"

And then we're treated to some more of that low end guitar growl for a few moments before we get the second verse, and denouement:

          "At least refreshing and last hope
          That everything can solve the dope
          He doesn't want to catch and bite
          Just sharing with the girl his pipe

          "Unlucky stoned Jabberwocky!"

I LOVE the lyrics to this song, even if I have to dock Friedrich a few style points overall for the vocal delivery.  His monotone, slightly nasal, traditional Krautrock singing voice just isn't my cup of tea.  But Cosmic Fall makes it work, focusing primarily on the jam, the lyrics and vocals are secondary to the album.  In fact, only two tracks, opener "Jabberwocky" and closer "Icarus" of the six tunes on In Search Of Outer Space have vocals.

The second tune, "Narcotic Vortex " sees Freidrich hold down the low end while Dan  plays some light jazz on the skins and Martin  gets positively psychedelic and spacey with his picking and playing, building toward a nice and rather unexpected Sax drum solo, before the band comes together to close things out.

"Purification" could easily find itself at home on a Pink Floyd album, but Morawski is channeling his inner Hendrix on "Lumberjam," as he blazes a trail of fuzz and distortion, soloing all the way. 

The next to last track is the trippy "Spacejam."  With all the studio effects laid on top of the band's instruments on this particular track, it makes for some  truly spaced out experimental psychedelia and I'm a huge fan of this particular track.  Martin's guitar sounds like a piano, the drums have an echo on them, the bass is tripping all the while.  This may be my favorite track on the record.

We close with the tale of "Icarus."

          "You tried to fly so high, touching the sun
          The vision of being on top with the gods
          Such a great dream was never done
          Icarus' wings burned by the sun."

It's a familiar tale for certain.  Wings made of wax, melted when they got too close to the heat of the sun and man plummeted to the ground and his death.  Man wishing to touch the divine.  Cosmic Fall does this tale justice, swirling psychedelic guitar, driving bass and pounding drums.  Then everything mellows for the lyric break and delivery for verse one and two (editor's note: verse two not reprinted here.)  Then the song picks back up and turns back into the frenzied beast it was during the opening section for a few moments before evaporating, thus bringing a most excellent trip to a close.

I eagerly anticipate the vinyl release of Cosmic Fall's In Search Of Outer Space.  Pre-Orders for that hot ticket begin on April 30, and the vinyl itself will be released on May 30.  For now, I'll will have to satisfy myself by connecting my iPhone to my stereo and blaring the mp3s version of In Search Of Outer Space over my stereo speakers until I can drop the needle on the physical product.  It's a physical product I deem worthy of adding to my personal collection, by the way. which means it rates at least an 85 out of 100.  In actuality, I score it a lofty 95.  This is an amazing record.

Lyrics and photos provided by Cosmic Fall.
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