Album Details

• Artist: Colin L. Orchestra
• Album: Infinite Ease/good God
• Label: Northern Spy
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2011-05-10

From the remnants of the late, great USAISAMONSTER, lead monster Colin Langenus returns with s new venture, one full of more instruments, a larger palette and a full band. The double CD "Infinite Ease/Good God" (also available on vinyl) introduces us to the Colin l. Orchestra with much fanfare, a mini-epic of pop, country, rock, keys and strings and other assorted sonic explorations.

Aside from the straight ahead country of the charming "You Need Sleep," "Infinite Ease" is muddy, ambient country, with a few pop refrains, the highlight being the moody "Numbers Hall." The last of the six songs, "Best Thing," uses its ten minutes of your time to prefigure the action on the second disc. It I s a fun, Psych-Boogie track that features some of Langenus ‘ best singing. There are over twenty musicians helping on these records, including about seven guitar players, so it is hard to guess who it is pulling off the killer guitar solo that drives that final track.

More compelling is the "Good God" disc, which is a ten song set of psych-pop that often reaches and epic but lovable madness. In keeping with the country touches of "Ease," "Keep One Tree" and "Need To Know" shuffle along in Meat Puppets II country fashion. On the psychedelic bounce of "Socialite" and "Surrounded by Love," he almost sounds like a happy Jandek, if you can picture that. "Doom" and "Dreams My Only Friend," along with the closer, "Lose My Heart," echo the Band as filtered through Procol Harum.

Colin Langenus brave muse, one used to looking back to move forward, and using raw and gentle sounds, is clearly intact after the demise of his legendary band. "Infinite Ease/Good God" is easy to digest, but not because it is easy to listen to. Langenus mixes the melodic with the atonal as freely and hummable as a Wilson brother. We can only be fortunate that he is back so soon with new music.

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