LANDS END - TERRA SERRANUM - 1995

"Terra Serranum" is a step above the band's debut album "Pacific Coast Highway" and a fairly good match to their masterpiece "Natural Selection". It's hard to describe each of "Terra Serranum"s tracks individually because all of them feature many time changes and musical themes, and I lack the space to go into details. For example, after the quiet 2:51-minute intro, track 2 hits you right away with a floydian wall of sound but soon hooks you with some unexpected choppy beats, some entrancing guitar play over a background of keyboards and some cool, almost murmured vocals vaguely reminiscent of Mark Hollis - the contrast between their smoothness and the tightness of the music is fascinating. Like many others on the album, this track goes through a whole gamut of musical emotions and ends in an explosion of seering guitars and soaring keyboards.

The most interesting tracks are the longer ones (especially the title track) where the musicians are given the space to build on different themes, each blending ever so smoothly into one another. What amazes about "Terra Serranum" is its simplicity and the resulting overall, hallucinating effect. For a truly unique musical experience in psychedelia, immerse yourself into "Terra Serranum". It's prog from the bottom of the sea, full of wavy, lustrous, hidden treasures.
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