Album: Australien
Label: Tempest Recordings
Year: 2010
Sunsaria (formally Psyburbia) is the alias of poly-instrumentalist, DJ and producer Baz Bardoe hailing from the outer reaches of the dusty plains of Western Victoria .With his new album 'Australien' he is joined by long time collaborator Robert Boehm (of Winduptoys fame) and a plethora of contributors from Flautist Megan Kenny to sonic noodler Jeremy Smith (the other half of Winduptoys)
With all this in the musical backpack the optimum conditions are created for a walkabout through the desert plains of the outback whilst traversing rising and falling psychedelic contours and terrains. The album begins with a beatless track "33 1/3 Revolutions per minute". Sparse echoes, a vocal that speaks of the concerns of our times and the haunting Arabian notes of Megan Kenny's flute could lead one to believe that this is an album full of brooding intensity. This is quickly dispelled however by the uplifting early 90's Orb-esque sounding bass n beats of "Deep Space Blues" which evolves in to a psybreaks roller as the track develops.
Australien as a whole is a mixed bag of space rock ,hip hop beats and even pop. This by itself could be in danger of falling into the abstract. However, it is held together perfectly by a psychedelic soundscape which permeates each track and creates a cohesive whole to the overall sound of the album. Samples are used to great effect most notably on "Revolutionary" and "Mushroom Messiah". It closes once again beatless with "Decompression" full of sonic swirls and echoes panning from speaker to speaker.
There is a definite 90's vibe to Australien' which gives it a playful lightness though with that said it is in no way naive. It maintains the right amount of gravitas and is at times thought provoking and inspiring.
Reviewed by CKA John
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