There is little information filtering through about Superthousand. Hardly anyone knows that this band formed near Cologne in 2012, went from quartet to trio and released two EPs, "Universe Reverse" (2013) and "Voyage" (2016). "#TRNSIT" with its strange title (the missing "A" would be the symbol of things that suddenly change, or have disappeared forever or never even existed) is therefore their first album.
The first title is worthy of note for two reasons. The first is that its title, 'Silence Reprise', suggests the existence of a previous 'Silence'... which happens to be the last track from the previous album, "Voyage", creating a bridge between these two records. The second one is that this very short track takes, the time of one bar, an air of Pink Floyd's 'Echoes'. A not so anecdotal loan because almost the whole album exudes the scent of early Pink Floyd, when he happily mixed psychedelic, progressive and hovering. From the keyboard layers to the guitar solos, the Floyd's shadow hovers almost permanently. It is however more a discreet evocation than a copy of the British band.
The first four tracks are taken from the same mould: a soft, almost atmospheric beginning, setting a melancholic atmosphere tinged with psychedelia, then the music suddenly explodes with a lot of drum rolls and saturated guitars before calming down just as suddenly. The melodies are very pleasant and the alternation of soft and loud beats prevents any monotony. 'World on Wire', 'Transit' (which has got its 'A' back) and 'Albatross' give off the same masochistic pleasure that the listener finds in a morose daydream or a deep sadness, a feeling that Dominik Mertens' singing is no stranger to. His broken voice, full of feeling, takes from the guts and generates the most vivid emotions.
'Yet Untitled' breaks this beautiful harmony with its well-balanced heavy metal faux-airs, while 'Safe & Now', if he goes back on his first five minutes in the style that has been so successful for the band, gets lost on the last four in a kind of experimental improvisation that is not always melodious. If the title has the merit of daring to go off the beaten track, its positioning at the end of the album is perhaps not the most judicious, leaving the listener with a mixed impression while the whole is particularly melodious.
Despite this little production clumsiness, "#TRNSIT" is an excellent album whose numerous qualities deserve to be noticed.