Sonic Whip
Coogans Bluff
+ No Man's Valley
Dit was Coogans Bluff!
Coogans Bluff made it their mission to combine psychedelic and progressive rock with the freedom of jazz. Armed with a brass section and guitars, the German collective takes you on a rollercoaster ride through prog-tinted jazz rock caves, only to come out at the other end to sunlit beaches.
Coogans Bluff eschews conventions and manages to evolve constantly, combining everything from rock and jazz to progressive rock, fusion, kraut and pop. On their latest 2020 album “Metronopolis”, the band manages to effortlessly find a balance between wild prog jazz eruptions, Beatles- and Eagles-esque melodies and extended psychedelic sound waves.
It is remarkable how the band is able to blend genres and ideas in just a single song, switching gears from up-tempo fusion to heavy rock in an eye blink, only to finish the song with psychedelic synths and a sublime saxophone solo. Coogans Bluff is capable of giving nostalgic retro rock a modern and exciting makeover, avoiding cliches without a hitch. And that’s truly impressive. The band is also terrific live on stage. Highly recommended to fans of Graveyard, Spidergawd and Causa Sui, but also of early Fleetwood Mac and Eagles.
No Man’s Valley’s sound is hard to capture. Psychedelic sounds, reminiscent of The Doors and Pink Floyd, duke it out with dark post punk in the style of The Gun Club and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Sometimes introvert, sometimes rhythmic. It is always exciting and a bit strange, too. Close your eyes and take a trip to No Man’s Valley.
