With their nearly nonexistent public profile, you'd be forgiven for throwing
a blank when the name of these krautrock merchants is raised, their
peripheral status seemingly the price they've paid for being largely out of
step with the dominant Kosmiche tradition. Given canterbury jazz-prog's
limited cache amongst indie rock cognoscenti, Eiliff's aberrant penchant for
this decidedly non-Germanic idiom (at least on their stunning debut) makes
their obscurity seem all too predictable.
With its immediate stylistic affinities to Thirsty Moon, Embryo, Out Of
Focus and other participants in the psychedelically addled German jazzy jam
band jamboree, this live document certainly goes a long way toward
reinstating them within the circumscribed boundaries of krautrock as its
popularly identified, though it's also concurrently less identifiable as
something likely to raise the hairs on my neck or the lump in my throat.
That said, any seasoned krautrock afficionado's pleasure centers are sure to
be mercilessly molested by the epic title track from their second album
Girlrls as reworked here, an 18+ minute revelation that sidles up so
close to the spirit of Agitation Free's 2nd, it practically dry humps
it. While the remainder falls short of attaining access to this sanctified
realm, it's never less that engaging. A second tier title from a first rate
outfit, newcomers are strongly advised to dip their toes in the soma pool of
Eiliff's self-titled debut before venturing into this somewhat
less auspicious backwater.
(Originally published in Alternative Press #140, p.78; reprinted with
permission)
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