Kicking around the British psych scene for two decades now, genre-bending, constantly morphing counter-culture collective Gnod reflect on their career in the first of a trio of suitably wacky releases.
In their 20 years as a band psychedelic space rock collective Gnod have done it all. Led by bandleader Paddy Shine alongside an ever-rotating supporting cast, Gnod have run the gamut from experimental drone to krautrock inspired electronics and wild stoner metal. Now on Chronicles Of Gnowt Volume 1, the first of three planned releases celebrating their journey so far, the band push their boundaries further than ever.
Opening on the instrumental acoustic piece ‘Three Tree’s (Part 1)’, arguably one of the most straightforward tracks in Gnod’s extensive career, Chronicles Of Gnowt Volume 1 quickly flings itself into the band’s usual psych rock chaos. While the album’s first full track ‘Shadow Mirror’ may start out slow and doomy it leaves itself plenty of room to grow across its seven minute runtime, gently building with layered, repetitive guitars and subtle synth drones before reaching a mesmerising, chanted conclusion, dragging a simple chord progression out to its logical extreme and then flattening it out some more. As an introduction to Gnod these two tracks deliver a fantastic contrast, showing off both the band at their most delicate as well as their most eclectic.
“As an introduction to Gnod these two tracks deliver a fantastic contrast, showing off both the band at their most delicate as well as their most eclectic.”
While there are plenty of moments where Gnod’s mastery of droning psychedelia shines, there are also just as many where they get a little too far into their own little world for the average listener. Although some dedicated fans may relish tracks like ‘Neptune’, newcomers are just as likely to become frustrated and bored with the whole exercise when these songs seem to take few steps towards developing an intriguing narrative and instead simply swirl in place. Nobody’s saying Gnod have to start writing the next pop mega-hit but a few too many tracks here rely on simply towering multiple layers on top of each other rather than creating any interesting melodic or structural movement.
The final two tracks of Chronicles Of Gnowt Volume 1 are a twenty-minute prog saga leading the listener through all the sonic ground that Gnod have covered over the last two decades. The first of these tracks ‘All Tunnel No Light’ is a glacial doom metal influenced piece which at first feels like Black Sabbath on tranquilisers but steadily morphs into a grandiose display of amplifier worship in the second half, the latter piece ‘Ekstasis’ takes a totally different approach by blending off-kilter new wave inspired beats with disorienting and abrasive Swans style experimentation, grinding discordant synths, violins and guitars into a fine paste alongside unexpectedly catchy percussion to create ten minutes of engrossing auditory fever dreams. Although these two tracks couldn’t be more different sonically, both perfectly represent two of the many competing sides of Gnod’s eclectic oeuvre, boiling some of the many styles the collective attempt down to their most essential elements and stretching them until they break.
While Chronicles Of Gnowt Volume 1 is hardly an accessible entry point for outsiders to Gnod’s world, existing fans are sure to get plenty out of the densely layered psychedelia as well as some of the new, more tender moments. With plenty of sonic landscapes to traverse Chronicles Of Gnowt Volume 1 touches on a little of everything Gnod have explored in their two decade career so far.