Colour Haze - In Her Garden Review ⚡️ - More Fuzz Stoner Rock Blog

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Experience an even higher kingdom of gods, and enter the gates of their garden!

The solemnly tender expression I feel on my face as I reflect on Colour Haze — their sound and their style must be conveyed. Because we’re human, and it’s our nature to (group) name generations, genres, and everything else for that matter, I swim in the sea of good-natured inner merriment, and picture the echo of my maniacal laughter; pondering all. I listen to these ambassadors of psychedelic rock and heavy roll, and hear their prosperity with age — unravelling a new age of sub-genres. The Haze were born into roots from the era of an awakening in consciousness revolution.

Influence is powerful. Underneath the layers of what operates around us, we absorb knowledge of magnificent wrath, which moves us towards expression. Colour Haze represent these layers of the past, present and future. In Her Garden is a breath — the electric forest of impeccable sound. It’s a way of life, and it captures an essence of self-awareness, love, beauty and personal authenticity. Unpredictable adversity presented itself to the three-piece out of Munich, Germany while recording this album. As always they were recorded live in one room together. Once again, the diverse composition and production this trio creates, comes into full bloom on their twelfth studio LP. To experience the music and enter In Her Garden, is to know that Colour Haze is wildly killing life, and taming our ears of audio pollination into a delicate masterpiece.

How is the sound?

If In Her Garden was recorded in their own rehearsal room (which is four floors below ground), we the listener would never know any different. Quite possibly Colour Haze’s most stimulating album yet. Opening up with the title track ‘In Her Garden’, Stefan Koglek welcomes us with his Hendrixian experience-land bend-ability. After the introduction (about a minute in), a “here we go” feeling stimulates the ears. ‘Black Lily’ transitions into the trio doing what they do best, held together by Philipp Rasthofer on Bass, Manfred Merwald on Drums, and Stefan Koglek Guitar/Vocals.

‘Magnolia’ then followed by ‘Arbores’ are both a blending King Crimsonian progression style towards a wilding of rock and jazz; these ambassadors of sound pick up where they left off from their 2014 release: To the Highest Gods We Know only to set a tone into the band’s evolution.

Besides the obvious theme of plants and flowers — specifically the track names, a numerical and possibly esoteric thing happens. Three short segmented pieces (starting with track 5, then 8, and then 11) named ‘sdg I’, ‘sdg II’, and ‘sdg III’, are each followed by two songs. The sound of these short pieces demonstrates a feeling of Colour Haze playing together live in a relaxed atmosphere.

Once again drawing on eastern European classical music influences, The Haze trio collaborate with musicians who’ve joined in the creative process. Jan Faszbender on Hammond, Rhodes and modulars, Robert Schoosleitner additional percussions and Mario Oberpucher on sitar.

Following ‘sdg I’ is a wonderful rock & roll celestial fuzz piece. ‘Lavatera’ is one of those songs spirally arranged which leaves us dreaming, only to reflect of a knowing this song can easily rival any classic in history. ‘Islands’ feeds exclusively from the themed garden sequence (which of course, the artistic perception is left inside the mind of the listener or rather the one who perceives), while Stefan, Philipp, and Manfred perform gracefully in their structured jam sequence until we finally hear fermented words from Stefan’s calming voice as he sings from his heart.

Enter the romantic interlude ‘sdg II’ melody as it soon fades into ‘Labyrinthe.’ Ulrich Wangenheim: bass and clarinet, Mathias Gotz: trombone, Jutta Keeb: tuba, arranged by Jan Faszbender help showcase the three-piece veterans of invention into a masterful symphonic arrangement. Simply: magnificent!

At this point in the album, my mind was blown. Colour Haze are as inventive of a rock & roll band anyone will ever hear creating music today. They move and recreate with each album. They are one of a kind. Listening to them through their composed progressive structured sound, I can’t help but hear elements of bands I’ve been listening to my whole life, and their albums, or rather time pieces.. which I’m almost sure spawned influence deep inside the smokey hush and haze of this brilliant band. So much so, I become inspired to pull out those dusty records once more, and spin them over and over again, as if I was listening to those records for the first time. I’m reminded: art, is a passing torch — whichever the medium.

Infamous nostalgia, and my mental time machine are thoroughly stimulated through the orchestration of the string quartet arranged by Mathis Nitschke for ‘Lotus.’ A song which might reflect sacred purity and an essence of the journey we experience while listening to In Her Garden.

‘sdg III’ an acoustic guitar and sitar intro escort our senses into the last two songs. ‘Skydancer’ dances melody richness of maximum pleasure, solidifying a memorable playful jam of a song; electric feedback bleeds the subtle segue into ‘Skydance.’ Sparkling flashes glitterize the grooves and build into richly textured patterns. A variety of styles is mixed, developing a most intriguing, awe-inspiring, and mysterious musical experience.

In Her Garden is a boundless effort by Colour Haze. Their craftsmanship and creativity is a musical tale served up as a mind-mesmerizing wallop of fortune. It’s simple. This trio, and everyone who collaborates with them, are ambassadors of the music scene. Musical integrity at its best! I’m rocked with a feeling of knowing the joys we can experience in music today.

Why is this album worth listening to?

Come on! It’s Colour fucking Haze! They’re rock gods..!

In what situation you should listen to this album?

Make a day out of it. Bring with you the following: a thermos filled with your favorite hot beverage, and a pastry to accompany your hot beverage with. A deliciously sustainable and fulfilling packed lunch. A bottle of dry Riesling wine and glass. A copy of the essay Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and a copy of the poem Ode To A Nightingale by John Keats. And most importantly, a copy of In Her Garden (whichever musical medium you prefer, but make sure to bring headphones in case of an emergency). Drive to your most favorite nature spot for solitude. Find a tree and sit underneath it. Pull out your thermos, enjoy your pastry, and drink your hot beverage. Read the essay Nature. After you’re finished reading the essay, open your bottle of Riesling, poor it into the glass, and enjoy its fermented perfection with your packed lunch of choice. Read the poem Ode To A Nightingale. After you’re finished with the poem, sit there under the tree in solitude, absorb your surroundings, free your mind, and listen to the sounds of nature. ~~Walk back to your vehicle, start the engine, and play the album In Her Garden. Drive. Don’t stop driving until the album has played in its full entirety.~~ Walk back to your vehicle, grab In Her Garden, put headphones on, lock up your vehicle, and go for a walk. Walk because hopefully, you drank at least most of the bottle of wine. Don’t stop walking until the album has played in its full entirety.