FunkFreak75 Brilliant and experimental/boundary pushing proggy Jazz-Rock Fusion from Sweden. They sound a bit like a Chick Corea-led FOCUS only better.

1. "Eber's Funk" (7:45) opens aggressively like something from the early J-R Fuse masterpieces from Tony Williams and John McLaughlin then gets really funky with Brynjulf Blix's masterful clavinet play. (One cannot help but wonder how long he'd been playing this rather new instrument and its funk applications.) Drummer Pål Thowsen is amazing! Then guitarist Jon Arild Eberson launches into a wonderfully fiery solo himself, showing no shame or fear of being compared to the J-R F greats like McLaughlin, Coryell, Akkerman, and Connors. (14/15)

2. "B.M." (11:45) I love the experimentation here with all of the early Mahavishnu Orchestra instrument sounds--and the way they take some of the music and style of Dutch progsters FOCUS and move it even further into the realm of jazz or jazz-rock fusion. The main electric piano four-chord motif gently propelling the song along does get rather old as the soloists go on (and on), but the work of drummer Pål Thowsen beneath is quite a nice diversion to pay attention to. (22.5/25)

3. "Flytende Øye" (6:39) again, the proggy side of Jazz-Rock Fusion--here exploring the Bitches Brew/Herbie Hancock approach to electrifying jazz. These musicians are so talented! (9.25/10)

4. "Skakke Jens" (5:32) with some scathing electric guitar in the spotlight and only bass and drums beneath this one feels more like a progression of power trio rock as Jimi Hendrix might have taken it had he lived longer. Not as jazzy as the previous songs, still very interesting. R-L reverberating-panning Fender Rhodes enters at 2:50 with great effect (essentially shutting down Jon Arild Eberson's guitar) taking over the lead for the remainder of the song. (8.875/10)

5. "O Kjød" (6:42) what sounds like electric piano (though it could be oddly processed acoustic piano) and gently-picked electrified acoustic guitar open as kind of a duet, though the guitar exists more in a support capacity for the first minutes. Very Mahavishnu John McLaughlin and Chick Corea like. Jon gets a turn in the lead halfway through while Brynjulf settles back into an even-more-Chick Corea-like support roll. Wish it were better recorded. (9/10)

Total Time: 38:23

I often find it hard to understand how caucasian people can be so funky--as if African traditions have some kind of exclusive on the sound and form--but this band definitely has some serious funk running through their veins. Awesome stuff!

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion in its very quintessential form(s). An album every self-proclaimed prog lover should hear at least once over their lifetime. Highly recommended.

dreadpirateroberts On their self titled album, 'Moose Loose,' led by guitarist Eberson, a pretty good debut is presented. 'Aggressive' is a fair description of what they do for the most part, it's a pretty powerful set of sounds, where drummer Thowsen, keyboardist Blix and Eberson himself seem to struggle for dominance. While channelling The Mahavishnu Orchestra helps establish the sense of forcefulness, there a little bit of subtlety here and there, but it’s still an album that packs a punch. I can imagine that they’d have been a great live band.

‘Eber’s Funk’ typical of their hard approach, both sonically and compositionally. It’s a great opening shot, but it seems as if the engineer was told to keep things ‘just about in the red’, so there’s a sense that every instrument (save the bass) isn’t too far from peaking. It does add a sense of rawness that’s in stark contrast with a lot of the slicker fusion the followed the early 1970s, and perhaps borrows from the rock side of the music world. Featuring a great Eberson solo and some frantic drumming, this one is a winner. ‘B.M’ reminds me quite strongly of The Mahavishnu Orchestra again, and I’d actually recommend this album from Moose Loose to fans of TMO’s debut. ‘Flytende Øye’ continues the attack and gives a lot of room to Blix’s electric keys, while ‘Skakke Jens’ is more of a jam than a showcase. The piece feels a little awkward, as though the band were just a little too excited about the ‘stop-start’ approach and pushed the idea beyond its value.

Closing the album is the almost delicate ‘O Kjød’, starting off with unaccompanied piano and featuring Eberson on acoustic guitar. He takes his time with his lead work here and the duet never becomes a race, it’s a pleasant contrast to the rest of the album.

This Norwegian group would follow up with ‘Transition’ which is less charging and has a cleaner production, but here it’s much more blistering. If you like your fusion a raw then have a look here. A good album rather than something game changing or stunning.