There are times (and listeners) that call for a musical edge, a sense of newness and unfamiliarity that is challenging and unsettling. “Avant garde.”  There are times (and listeners) that call for musical familiarity, for a secure homeland, a place to rest and to float in a heated pool of soothing sound.  “Accessible.”  There are uncanny surprises, and there are “old good jeans.”  For three decades now, Ozric Tentacles have been beating a path along the border between these two provinces of desire.  With the accomplished guitar and keyboard work of Ed Wynne providing the constant center amid changes in personnel, OT has consistently and recognizably drawn from a wide variety of musical sources, all the while sculpting distinctive aural textures, avoiding a merely “derivative” sound.

Their newest release, Technicians of the Sacred, continues this tradition of calm creativity.  Though it never really leaves the moorings built up by a half century of rock, electronica, and various styles that would often be grouped under the term “instrumental prog” (upon which I’ve commented before), it also never settles for the kind of familiarity that allows music to recline beneath the act of listening as if it were a stranger on a brief elevator ride.  There is a constant stylistic reverence for architects of psychedelic, “space,” ambient, prog, and other streams, but it always brings something new.

For some readers who are partial to the edge (as I am), this may come across as faint praise, but that is far from my intention.  When the exploration of a borderland appears effortless, we should suspect that both the skill and the effort of the explorer are quite considerable.

As was noted in Progarchy’s earlier announcement of this release, Technicians of the Sacred draws thematically from Mayan astrology.  The story of the astrologer who pronounced the band “Galactic Activation Portals sent to channel messages of love to the world” lends a stereotypically “New Age” ambiance.  But OT does not simply fall back on a stereotype.  Here too they continue a tradition, which is that of embracing cultural as well as stylistic openness.  Here too they cultivate a balance that is difficult to resist, treating their theme with the right combination of seriousness and sense of humor.  (My favorite title here is “Rubbing Shoulders with the Absolute.”)  Scholars of religion define “the sacred” as that which is set apart, extraordinary, and in some sense forbidden.  It is that toward which the devotee must rightly comport him- or herself, that which gives meaning to the “profane” (here meaning ordinary or mundane).  If there is a musical sacred, then it has its prophets and priests.  Ozric Tentacles are consistent and effective priests who never lose sight of their roots in (and the fire of) the prophetic.

Those who have long followed OT will not be disappointed by Technicians of the Sacred, and will no doubt welcome their first double-album-length release in years.  Those unfamiliar with them will find it a warm welcome into their expansive oeuvre.

OT’s website:  http://www.ozrics.com/