Dune Sea: Orbital Distortion

Orbital Distortion is the third studio album by Norwegian psychedelic/stoner/hard rock band Dune Sea. For this output the band is comprised of Ole Nogva on vocals, guitars and synthesizers, Petter Solvik Dahle on bass, vocals, synths and guitars, and Viktor Olsen Kristensen on drums and percussion.

A weird space trip that I’m digging more and more with every listen. The Hawkwind influence is evident, as is the desert stoner rock mood, with flares of acid rock and even some doom metal. A very compressed-sounding album, however the outstanding rhythmic section can still be fully appreciated, there are multiple cool arrangements and very groovy passages, with some songs sung in English and others in Norweian, but the music is so good and catchy that it flows perfectly, and before you know it, the less than 40 minutes long record is over. Psychedelic/space rock can be tedious and too repetitive, and the genre is an acquired taste, but this album has a unique shortness to its content that manages to stick faithful to the band’s concept but at the same time being more concise than most stoner/space rock bands. “Astro Chimp� is a great opener, engaging and catchy, and immediately gives a sneak peak of what to expect from the rest of the album. “Hubro� is one of my favorite songs, love both the guitar work and the guesting violin, courtesy of Oliver Dyb, it provides of an exquisite and melodic ending to an already very sticky song. One of the aspects that make this album more immediate and accessible than the standard psychedelic output are the multiple pop sensitivities, that Kula Shaker vibe that seems to be overlooking most of the instrumental segments, which are the majority, “Euphorialis� and “Draugen� are the perfect example. Another highlight is the bass player, Petter, who is fantastic, and his imprint is easily found in songs like “Gargantua� and the great “Trinity�, the unquestionable peak of the record, where all sub genres merge and showcase the band’s unique sound. And even though is hard for me to say without a doubt that Orbital Distortion is a concept album, it does sound and feels like one… every song has its own mood, rhythm and specific details, but at the same time they feel somehow connected, and that’s something that comes to show with the two last songs, “Anesthesia� and “Hevn� (Vengeance in Norwegian), songs that bring the album to an end in an epic way.

Track Listing:
1. Astro Chimp (3:52)
2. Hubro (5:15)
3. Euphorialis (3:11)
4. Draugen (4:46)
5. Gargantua (4:31)
6. Trinity (4:12)
7. Anesthesia (5:03)
8. Hevn (7:02)

Added: December 11th 2022
Reviewer: Jose Antonio Marmol
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 658
Language: english

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