By: Victor Van Ommen
Every festival has them, the bands whose names are printed in small print at the bottom of the poster. These are usually the festival’s little gems, they are the secret weapons, the cure for any hangover. But during all the hoopla about the headliners, these little guys sometimes get overlooked. Desertfest Belgium is no different, but The Sludgelord wants to change this and will do so by spending the next five days shining a light on those Fine Print bands to help get you in the mood for Desertfest Belgium and to get your asses out to the front of the stage early.
3rd Ear Experience
3rd Ear Experience is a band that I have just gotten on board with. How their mind-bending, cosmic space-prog hasn’t come to my attention before now is beyond me. They’ve put out three albums in three years so let’s go ahead and call them prolific. So today, as part of our preparation for Desertfest Belgium, we are going to take a quick glimpse at their vast discography.
“Peacock Black” reaches cruising altitude pretty quickly. Free-form jamming is where it’s at, so expect a lot of to and fro in both melody and tempo played by a varied palette of instrumentation – trumpets, synths, all that fun stuff. At times fluid and at others paralyzingly mesmerizing, “Peacock Black” lacks a little bit of focus but this also gives the songs the space to take off and soar freely.
“BOI” is a little busier than its predecessor, certainly for the drummer. Guitar riffs move in a little closer to center stage, making the songs on this outing a little more discernable from each other. There are some parts that are filled with angst, driven by rhythms that draw as much from Industrial music as from Africa . The highlight, though, is the second track, which is heartfelt and sensual, filled with oo’s and aah’s that lift the melodies up, up and away.
“Incredible Good Fortune” is an album that feels as much a retrospective as well as a celebration of accomplishment. During the course of “Peacock Black,” the band took the listener on a journey to the outer reaches of space. “BOI” was the album which showed off how much fun it is up there, but “Incredible Good Fortune” goes one step further, making the empty spaces between the stars home. If you’re still on the fence, check out the album’s closing track, “Shaman’s Dream,” close your eyes, wait for the “hey-ya’s,” and let the music take you away.
3rd Ear Experience play at 20:00 on the Vulture Stage. See you at the rock show.
Band info: facebook
DESERTFEST BELGIUM 2015
October 9-11th at Trix Muziekcentrum –Antwerp
3 day tickets (96€) on sale HERE
October 9-11th at Trix Muziekcentrum –
3 day tickets (96€) on sale HERE
