EIGHTH WONDER ALERT. German blues heavyweights SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT are back with a third full-length that approaches perfection, that all. Even though “Waiting For The Flood” is “only” made of four tracks (of more than ten minutes each), it imposes itself as one truly balanced, groovy and voluptuous masterpiece. Ready to peel the layers of this sublime, yet uneasy to label, record? Let’s just say that the words “samsara”, “blues” and “experiment” have never felt so accurate to define this band…
ARTIST : Samsara Blues Experiment
ALBUM : “Waiting For The Flood”
RELEASE DATE : November 2013
LABEL : Electric Magic Records
GENRE : Progressive heavy blues / Exotic fantasy
RATING : ✩✩✩✩✩
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The opening title “Shringara”, which Hindi primal meaning has to do with romantic love and physical pleasure, is some luscious appetizer, a foreplay that slips somewhere in between Ravi Shankar’s sitar and fine synths arrangements. Somehow, this intro song reminds me of “Singata Mystic Queen” off their first record “Long Distance Trip”. As we could expect, the atmosphere on this album is set to a real change of scene. Christian Peters’ fiery singing contrasts brilliantly with the song’s lascivious feeling… which turns into a tidal wave of thick riffs driven by a very enthralling guitar solo. First song and already, the aphrodisiac filter is working well.
The feeling gets waaaaaaaayyy more sensual and hedonistic on the eponymous song: “Waiting For The Flood” is BY FAR the catchiest and most intoxicating song of the whole record. A river of love and positive waves is poured from the amps, liquid gold springs from the guitars and (jazzy) bass. Seriously, I’ve played this song on repeat for hours without even getting bored of it. Perfection, as sexy and captivating as it can be. What entrances me with real blues jammers like Samsara is that, no matter the length of the song they’d put out, it will always seize your guts from start to finish. In this way, “Don’t Belong” offers a dark and languid blues rock, until it reaches its half, then boom! The heaviness gets back the upper hand, the rhythm gets tense again, and… we have no other choice than to headbang. The sound and groove are worthy of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, until the fourth and last song “Brahmin’s Lament”, by far the most energetic song of the record. “Brahmin’s Lament” is heavy yet subtle, slowing down from time to time, blending sitar with a “desperadesque” riff: the trip slowly comes to an end, somewhere between Nepal and New Mexico. Said like that, it sounds a bit funky, but who wouldn’t feel spaced out after such a masterpiece? There it is, I just dropped the word.
With this stunning third record, Samsara Blues Experiment once again open their big hearts to us. Closer to “Long Distance Trip” than “Revelations & Mysteries”, “Waiting For The Flood” is a sheer concentrate of all the Berlin based foursome has of jammier and more exotic, the crushing and punchy side of their sound being put aside in order to focus on the sensations… What addictive sensations. Guitars are exulting, the groove is reaching its climax, Peters’ hoarse vocals wraps the whole thing wholeheartedly: there, we’re electrified, overjoyed by one of the most successfully completed records of the decade.
Last modified: 11 February 2015
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