Here’s a real cracker of an album I stumbled on recently. Heard a track – had to have it. The band is Villagers of Ioannina City and the album is Age of Aquarius.
The Villagers are from Greece. That influence is present in the music – which is a heady mash up of heavy, thumping, fuzzy, trippy, riffs with throbbing bass lines and that traditional Greek influence running through it all. Heck – they even work in some bagpipes here and there.
It’s such an enthralling listen. It’s heavy, progressive, folksy, atmospheric, spacey and quite hypnotic all at the same time.
If Hawkwind revisited In Search of Space it might sounds something like Age of Aquarius.
Think bits of Monster Magnet, classic Jethro Tull, Gong, Steve Hillage and similar and you’ll have some indication of what the Villagers are all about.
Overall it’s quite distinctive and addictive. The kind of listen where you play it loud through the headphones, lay down on the sofa and drift off.
Sometimes the songs are slow burners which gradually build up the momentum and break out and sometimes they are in your face from the off. The intertwining of clarinets and bagpipes on occasions add to the ethnic/atmospheric feel.
And whilst the overall running time exceeds an hour and occasionally the songs have a longish length due to extended instrumental outros it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome and those extended outros fly by.
Have a listen to Father Sun and how that grabs attention and captivates throughout.
It’s typical of what you’ll hear on Age of Aquarius.
Other highlights on a stand-out album include the throbbing Part V and Millennium Blues – which fools you in to thinking it’s a developing melodic bluesy rocker then steps it up in to a soaring atmospheric affair.
Whilst at first the album might appear to be somewhat repetitive – it’s not. The more you listen the more your ears will hear the subtleties and variations going on.
Overall, the Villagers have a quite superb and captivating album of hard/heavy/progressive/folk rock. Most highly recommended.
>> VILLAGERS OF IONNINA CITY: AGE OF AQUARIUS ON AMAZON <<