It has been a three year wait to find out if L.A. based Orgone could deliver a satisfying follow up to their first release on Ubiquity, 2007′s excellent “The Killion Floor”. An epic album at 17 tracks and over 76 minutes that reflected a wide range of all things groovy, It might have seemed a little over ambitious for an album were it were not for the fact the meandering journey and change-up in the styles kept it sounding fresh and groovy until the very last note.
“Cali Fever” was recorded at the same Los Angeles analog recording studio, KillionSound – a studio that grew out of Orgone’s original need to have a rehearsal space. The new album is only slightly less epic than its predecessor at 12 tracks and 55 minutes long and once again we are treated to a fantastic journey through the bands many influences, expertly produced with a suitably raw and warm sound, resulting in an album of very high quality that I think surpasses the high quality of The Killion Floor.
The structure of each track is solid rhythm and tight brass punctuation, whilst on top is more loose playing, often drifting out into a dream-like trip. It is definitely a nice balance between the raw and refined here, whether they are playing afro beat, rock, soul, funk or a mix of all, the band handles with competence and flair. This is altogether a much funkier affair, in fact I’d have to say it is pretty damn funky throughout. Singer Fanny Franklin is certainly one to watch at the moment, if it seemed she was perhaps underused on the last album, then she is perhaps also a little underused here. I say perhaps because I just love the instrumentals too. The big difference here is all the material is Orgone’s own penned – and mighty fine it is too. An excellent showcase for Fanny’s strong vocals are the very funky cuts “Got To Give It Up”, “Overtime” and “Doing Me Wrong”, I think I will be spinning these a few times. Even the more club disco influenced “It’s Time Tonight” grew on me. A lot.
From the strorming opener, everything in-between and then closing a sturdy set with an epic instrumental, soundtrack styled “The Cleaner”, I was certainly set back down to Earth a happy funkonaut. In fact I had to make the journey another several times just to make sure it was as good as I thought the first time. It was.
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