Eccentric Orbit

CD Services (UK)

Fall 2014

‘Creation Of The Humanoids’ is ECCENTRIC ORBIT’s 2nd album and was released in the USA towards the close of 2014! The album gets its name from the 20-minute title track, which tells the story of the 1960s sci-fi cult classic that is reputedly Andy Warhol's favourite film!

Sadly, during the ten-year gap between the release of this and their debut album: ‘Attack Of The Martians’, the band lost their much-loved original drummer: Mark Cella, although he was involved to some degree in some of the recordings on ‘Humanoids’. 

In terms of its scope, composition, construction and production, ‘Creation Of The Humanoids’ is a sizable leap forward from ‘Attack Of The Martians’. The arrangements are more intense and complex, and I sense a bit more in the way of improvisational jamming going on during some passages. The production is immense at times and the Mellotrons are very CRIMSON-esque, as are many of the arrangements, but all the classic keyboard sounds are still there in force, with a few new ones added as well! Madeleine Noland’s melodic trolled synthesizers and keyboards are out of sight and a huge driving force throughout, while Bill Noland’s powerhouse bass is even more penetrating than before, and together with the skilful and tight stick-work of both drummers, they form a mighty Prog-Fusion unit with a Space-Rock edge! 

Here are some track details…

‘Breaking Osiris’ opens the album with tinges on Eastern promise then develops onto a rich hotpot of searing analogue synth themes waves of Mellotron stings (and some flutes too) and a jazz-rock rhythm section performing a tight but complex – almost YES like – workout. A mind-blowing opener!

‘Stellar Attraction’ opens in a sea of cosmic delight with tingling and rippling synth motifs, and then when the bass and drums enter we take off into a driving jazz-rock trip through the universe with the synth melody bending and twisting high and low as it weaves throughout the mix. The superbly constructed swells of electric violin and keyboards gives offers a UK flavour to the sound and the bass and drums are oh-so tight and punchy.

‘Creation Of The Humanoids’ is a near twenty-minute epic and the 1st part: ‘Atomic War’ comes in sounding like it really means business amid a pulsating effect-ridden electronic riff from the bass (I think) before opening out into a vast panoramic cosmic scene that could have come out of the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ movie. ‘Rise Of The Robots’ is formed for a driving synth melody line over a complex rhythmic structure and some broken bursts of Mellotron choir, and the remaining three parts feature some wild duelling synth solos firing up here and there, with occasional jabs of thick Hammond organ swells coming in from time to time, plus there are some passages of fantastic raw Mellotron sounds as well as rocking electric violin jams, and again the rhythm section gels it all together beautifully and keeps all the other instruments well in check.

‘Marilyn Monrobot’ is built from a quirky synth driven melody surrounded by incredibly tight bass and drums work, then the album closes with: ‘By Air Express To Venus’ which opens floating in space with synth signals pulsating all around brassy synths that take off in a collage of powerful melody lines. 

The intensity rises as the piece progresses, but light and shade comes in the form of intermittent cosmic breaks that take you floating out into space accompanied by beautifully delicate electric violin and huge Mellotron waves that flow under high register surreal synth tunes. 

When the intensity rises again the synthesizers can be sharp and piercing as they duel with Noland’s incredibly powerful driving bass lines, but it’s all part of what can only be described as a mind-blowing trip of Progressive fusion that is sure to reveal more and more about itself with each new airing.