#larp session

With a name like Kodachromerockopera, you can at least give Magnus Moriarty credit for being self-aware in their obtuseness. The google-proof Norwegian band has a penchant for mid-‘60s psychedelic folk, tinged with a mythic, Elizabethan savor, sounding decadently 16th century in its churchy jaunt. The heart of the record is supported by a grand sprawl of pious strings and harpsichord, and the lyrical themes and vocal cadences reflect a near minstrel-like quality. In that sense it’s easy to appreciate Moriarty for looking beyond the 20th century for influence and coming up with something wildly historical in the context of the common touchstones for modern rock bands, this isn’t a rock opera as the title might suggest, but it’s just as much of a cocksure statement. Of course the music tends to get in the way of their vision, despite the grandiosity and ornamented instrumentation; the sounds on Kodachromerockopera are obnoxiously compressed. The production is squeezed through a narrow corridor, bathing all the textures in a gauzy miasma. The usual crispness of a violin skirt is lost in the mix; instead the record encompasses an austere, almost delirious take on the traditionally pastoral music they’re playing. Even at their goofiest – the tavern-band rollick of ‘She Lingers in The Grandest of Fields’ comes to mind – the earthiness isn’t there, odd when they’re singing druidic hymnals to the aforementioned fields and trees. The production shrinks the music into a suspended chintz that catches the listener off-guard in a bad way, it sounds cheap and artificial, like built out of a legion of Casio tone settings – and it doesn’t help the musicianship put on display rarely elevates beyond oddball kitsch. These songs would feel natural scoring the time spent waiting in line for Splash Mountain, take that as you will. The sound does feel a little more natural when paired with the seasick acid-rock of a song like ‘F# D –Minor And So On’, where the band apes the discombobulated movements of a band like Soft Machine. But the schmaltz of this stuff completely outweighs the power. Maybe it’s the budget but Kodachromerockopera is an incredibly peculiar work, it’s hard to tell if it’s meant to be taken seriously, to be played at your next renaissance fair or LARP session, or if Magnus Moriarty is just joking around. Either way it makes for an album that isn’t much fun to listen to, but garners a lot of discussion.