Beware of imitations! There are others of that name lurking in the interweb. However, this CB3 (Charlotta’s Burning Trio) is from Malmö, and in the review for their last album (Aeons) I rather floridly described them as having: “an impressive sound that conjures up jazz, rock, and psychedelia. It’s as if Floyd, Crimson, and Mahavishnu had birthed the infamous three-headed Cerberus and then taught the dog to rock!” Nothing on their latest, fifth, release has changed my mind.
Exploration is five tracks with forty-five minutes of musical diversity wrapped in a fascinating package. OK, when you read that this is “the first part of a space adventure where a daydreaming character physically enters his dreams which then become reality”, you may raise a weary eyebrow. The good news is that every minute is worth your time, and there’s vocals this time too. Exploration is the title and the music is just that: five tracks, forty-five minutes of well-thought-out, melodic and proggy, psyche rock.
Opener, ‘Daydreams’ in eleven fuzzed up minutes could be Syd replacing Ozzy in outer space! This is quality stuff. The short (five minute) ‘Going to the Horizon’ starts like Rainbow before tripping on “colours all around”… another blend of heavy rock with the ethereal. ‘In a Rainbow with Friends’ set my teeth on Edge at first but soon the heavy, glorious bass line and time changes turned it into Sabbath grooves and Earring proginess; After the extended sound effect section, it is back to accessible psyche and a rollicking guitar solo. Final track, ‘Through Space and Time’ is an epic heavy rock, riff led song that allows room for more great bass, some intricate drum fills and Charlotta Andersson proves again that she can play rock guitar as well as the jazz styled chords that show her degree in jazz isn’t wasted. Her vocal is less processed on this one and shows a delicacy of tone and expression.
This hugely complex album is still accessible and, despite the genre-mashing is going to satisfy most rock fans… give this a listen and prepare to be astounded and drawn into the world of CB3.
Exploration is out on 26th August via Majestic Mountain Records.
 from Malmö release Exploration, five tracks of well-thought-out, melodic and proggy, psyche rock.){kind=link}