ALBUM REVIEW: 3 – Drongo

DRONGO are an eight-piece kraut rock rock outfit hailing from the land of Norway, and infusing Norwegian space disco makes for a complimentary cocktail for their third album titled 3. Making great use of improvisation between wriggling basslines and drum machine beats that hit your ear in just the right place, 3 always has something unexpected to offer you amongst its six tracks, all named after sea dwelling creatures. Featured amongst the six are; crabs, orcas and sea urchins — splendid. 

Whilst DRONGO remain lyricless for the record, the titular purpose of the tracks is full of sentiment, how not only are we destroying our own species’ habitats but that of those who live in the water as well. That might leave you wondering about how they’re going to convey such a message, well with really long songs. It might be unnecessary to draw each track out for so long, with some veering over the ten-minute mark, but it gives a chance for listeners to pick up on the nuance in each track, searching between the starkly contrasting jerking guitars and drums. Krabbe for example will throw you in the deep end with 11 minutes of listening, but it strangely does feel like existing beneath the water for glimpses of it but if you were the crab from cover of THE PRODIGY’s The Fat Of The Land

Laks is much more upbeat and frenetic, blending in some jazz tendencies as well as a bendy guitar that opposes the sonic positivity with a more isolating tone. Spekkhogger is the most warped and distorted of the bunch, each instrumentation darts from the next which succeeds in completely sucking you in. With some though, 3 isn’t so far off from the works of SQUID or something you would find in Bristol on a Friday night, it has that provocative attitude that’s sole purpose is to mesmerise anyone that hears it. Similar to how a cartoon character will smell a freshly baked pie and miraculously begin to float toward its succulent scent. 

The lack of lyrics creates some difficulty in communicating the rather important message of 3, a regular listener isn’t given all that much to go on without the context. However, as a record to put on in the background, zone out to, or even get the housework done, it’s second to none. Even with its biggest detriment holding it back DRONGO have created a spectacular body of work that represents their musical identity perfectly. 

Rating: 8/10

3 is out now via self-release.

Like DRONGO on Facebook.