Korb III by Korb

In the field of interplanetary psychedelia, Korb are unique. The British duo of Alec Wood and Jonathan Parkes do not appear to be restricted by time or space as they create a blend of space rock that is achingly classic yet truly exploratory. They dip into the past to embrace the sounds of the seventies; leap forward to borrow some modular synths; head to the present to dabble with contemporary effects and then charge millennia into the future to surf the astral waves of deep space. All of this is thrown together to create a sound that is impossible to pin down: it is both retro and futuristic, of every year and of no year. Korb appear to be the Time Lords of the psych scene with a Tardis tucked neatly into their garage. There's no problem here with the difficult third album. Korb do not appear to exist in linear time, so this record could have been recorded ten years before you were born, or yesterday, or in a thousand years. It sounds like Korb doing what they they do, which is fitting different shapes into a expansive whole, building patterns you will believe were always there and making you wonder why you have never noticed them before. Korb's music is so assured. Synths carry these songs along, while guitars dip in and out, making your spirit soar or your brain shake. There's a worrying edge at times, though Korb always guide you past any danger, allowing you to see the threats but also demonstrating their ability simply to brush them aside. As they travel through infinity they meet gods, hunters, lords and priests; nothing phases them. They build their third android. Soon it will be an army of millions. Korb are irresistable.

Adam - Isolation

I was looking forward to this guys new album and it exceeded my expectations.
Alec Wood and Jonathan Parkes are becoming more confident and thorough in their creations with each step. Fundamental work, brilliance and a real pleasure for fans of all sorts of cosmic melodies and cyclic groove, for those who have not been taken into cosmonauts, but still roams through space.
Korb manipulates consciousness in an amazing way, easily misleading its listener in space and time. In their compositions, they combine nostalgic retro sound and sounds that seem to be born in the near future. Sometimes it feels like Alec Wood recorded his own parties in the late 70s and then Jonathan Parkes sent in his from the future 30s.
From composition to composition, as if from one galaxy to another, the listener travels in space at a great speed, with genuine interest in watching what is happening. Each new track is a separate story, a separate universe filled with different colors. But all 10 Korb universes are painted only with bright colors, there is no room for monochrome. The sound palette is as saturated as a fantastic picture of "Pillars of Creation", captured by the Hubble telescope.
Catch and enjoy the moment, you too.

Psychedlic

I am a relative late comer to the cosmic sounds of Korb. I received their self-titled debut album as a gift and was blown away by the vivid journey that the music took me on. I then discovered their seminal second album, Korb II. Again, the space rock sounds took me away and had me hooked. Now they return with their third album called, wait for it, Korb III. I’m once again booking my ticket on the good ship Korb, ready to blast off into space to discover new worlds and galaxies.

The album opens on the exploratory piece, ‘Remote Viewer’. There’s a peaceful serenity to this track whilst at the same time being ominous and foreboding. A short but great start to the journey.

As is traditional, we next meet this albums android. ‘Korb’s Third Android’ is a restrained affair. The modulated synth flutters while the guitar jams and the rhythm section hold it down like clockwork. Like the internal workings of the android itself.

We soar on through the galaxy and encounter ‘Hunter’. We’re picking up pace now with real retro Arkanoid vibe. The drums hold down a driving groove for the pulsing synth and bass to play over. The mega fuzzed out guitar adds splashes of colour and texture lifting the track, sending us soaring.

Following this is my album highlight. ‘Lords of Nazca’ is one of the coolest instrumentals I’ve ever heard. It has this confident swagger about it, coming from that groove. That awesome groove. This part of the journey feels like flying through hyperspace, multicoloured streams of light peeling past as we travel on towards galaxies new.


We emerge bleary eyed above the ‘Temples of Mars’. Droning synths trade blows with rolling electronic waveforms. It’s almost like we are moving slowly over the surface of the red planet scanning for life.

Now in the temple it’s time to offer our ‘Ritual for the Gods’. Our intergalactic overlords demand their offering and luckily the Korb boys have us covered. The slow and pulsing sounds mirror our slow advance to the altar. Building in complexity, one layer at a time until reaching the feet of the Gods themselves.

We are on the move again with the duelling guitars of ‘Infrared’. In my head this is the sound of the giant Gods chasing us from the temple across the plains of Mars. Proper solid riffs on show here aping the huge footsteps of our pursuers.

All is not lost, to our aid come the ‘Robots of the Ancient World’. There’s an air of triumph to the synths and particularly the drums on this piece. The distance between us and the danger becomes too great to comprehend. We are flying.

When all of a sudden comes ‘A Rare Bird’, swooping on the solar winds. This track is so poised and deliberate it takes you away, chasing that bird through the heavens. When I close my eyes, I see the fiery phoenix from Battle of the Planets flying into the never-ending night.

Until the ‘Cosmic Dawn’. Where peace embraces us at the end of our journey across the cosmos. Our brave pilots say their goodbyes and take the good ship Korb off on another adventure to star systems new.

There’s something magical about a Korb album. It fires my imagination and sends me places beyond my comprehension. For me that’s down to how these guys play the music. One minute your hearing sounds that remind you of a 50’s sci-fi B-movie, then synths harking back to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop creations from the late 70’s. All the while though you feel like you are listening to some far-off future where Ulysses is still searching for Earth or Esteban is still searching for those seven cities of gold.

Mark Anderson (Static Sounds Club). Review from Psych Lovers Album of the Year poll. Korb III voted number 3.

'The British duo of Alec Wood and Jonathan Parkes produce a sound so perfectly correct you will probably see a picture of them if you glance at the dictionary definition of 'space rock.' Isolation. 'Korb's space kraut is as hypnotizing as the sky at night and yet the sounds are highly motivating and make you wanna explore distant galaxies.' Mangowave Reviews

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