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Mahogany Frog

DO5

MoonJune Records MJR 020

‘A hot, dirty trip through countless musical ideas’ is how the press release accompanying Winnipeg’s Mahogany Frog’s fifth album release describes the band’s music, and it’s a perefct summing-up of their sound and approach.

Like much of this consistently intriguing label’s output, DO5 is basically psychedelic jazz-rock, replete with slow-building, mesmerically climactic compositions assembled from a plethora of fascinating sounds and textures, ranging from fuzzy electric bass (Scott Ellenberger) to howling electronics and piercing guitar (Graham Epp and Jessie Warkentin), all irresistibly propelled by the virtuosic drumming of J. P. Perron.

There are hints of Canterbury-style prog-rock influences in Mahogany Frog’s playing ­ their eccentrically joyous organ sounds also occasionally bring that mysteriously underrated British band Cardiacs to mind ­ but this is highly original, compelling and ­ above all ­ viscerally exciting music from a powerfully cohesive yet explosively dynamic band. Strongly recommended to anyone who likes unashamedly grandiloquent jazz-rock.