During the formative period of prog rock, the early pioneering bands played with ideas of hermeticism, the occult and spirituality. It’s an aesthetic that has infiltrated the genre throughout the decades, from King Crimson all the way down to Tool and Tame Impala. Isoscope, a pact of young shamanic prog-rock occultists from Berlin who wear their admiration of King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard on their sleeves, are no exception.
The band don’t just look like a bunch of psychedelic hipsters, they sound like them, too. Isoscope’s fearless command of odd time signatures, key changes, and guitar effects show that they’re capable of creating a new and ferocious brand of psych rock. Unlike their peers, the band show a maturity beyond their age, evoking iconic British bands like Yes and Pink Floyd. Isoscope are daring and even coarse in their approach.
Unlike their peers, the band show a maturity beyond their age, evoking iconic British bands like Yes and Pink Floyd.
With the band splitting vocal responsibilities, the songs vary in tone throughout, touching on different genres, styles and emotions. The album’s opener ‘Tabula Rasa’ is a brutally beautiful onslaught of noise, with slices of post-punk band Squid sandwiched between the harmonies.
Then there’s the anarchic rhythms of ‘Autopilot’, the Pink Floyd aesthetics on ‘Dreams III’, and the risqué riffs of ‘Western’. Black Midi, watch your backs! The stand-out track ‘Pain Simulator’ accumulates tension before releasing it in a shock-rock explosion. With these ten tracks, Isoscope have created less of a mess and more of a hex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
- Out November 3
