As far as Russian progressive rock goes you'd be hard pressed to find a more adventurous sounding outfit than these four talented musicians who go by the name of Tribal Logic, with their fantastic debut release Freaky Karma delivering a hefty ROI here offering almost 75 minutes of total music stretched over four compositions. While the bands sound has been described as sort of meeting point of jazz fusion and psychedelia, make no mistake these aren't merely trance inducing psychedelic jams because Tribal Logic's sonic canvas, which draws liberally from not only jazz and fusion also incorporates elements of ambient, avant-garde and even world beat.
Taken as a whole the thing that kept coming to mind while engaging in repeated listens of Freaky Karma was just how mature these young musicians sound. For a band that has been in existence for slightly under two years there is an incredible aura of cohesiveness running through these compositions. The music comes off as sounding remarkably structured and thought out yet there are clearly moments of sublime improvisation as well. Although this is certainly a team effort between all four musicians involved it's hard to deny just how integral the rhythm section of bassist Konstantin Poptsov and drummer Alexander Strashinsky are in shaping the overall framework of these songs. Strashinsky's adept, complex percussive work proves that he is clearly a jazz drummer at heart, as he tosses out one dazzling fill after another while Poptsov locks down the groove with his infectious, thick as molasses bass lines. Guitarist Alexei Savitsky's contribution while just as vital is rather subdued in the sense that his role here is one of a supportive nature as the vast amount of the music on Freaky Karma is centered around keyboardist Anton Sheludko.
While there isn't one second of filler on Freaky Karma as each one of the four tracks yields its own unique, rich reward, two songs really stand out as far as the bands willingness to expand and experiment with different sounding suites of music. Clocking in at around twenty five minutes each "Wooden Rain" and "Theoretical Vampirism" really allows the band to stretch out further musically and by adding violin and cello into the mix it just expands upon the whole dynamic.
Freaky Karma will prove to be a very worthwhile and enriching listening experience for people who appreciate not only killer musicianship where the players feed off each other with an almost telepathic sense of communion, but also to individuals who cherish music for what it really is, a gift.
Track Listing
1) Detective
2) Wooden Rain
3) Freaky Karma
4) Theoretical Vampirism
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