Bohren & Der Club of Gore – Patchouli Blue (2xLP, Red Transparent Vinyl)

Bohren & der Club of Gore's Patchouli Blue arrived in 2020 after a six-year gap since Piano Nights, and it also marked a real turning point for the band: this was the first album after drummer Thorsten Benning's 2015 departure. Rather than replace him, Bohren carried on as a trio, letting that absence shape the record's stillness. The result is the group's eighth studio album by the supplied catalogue history, and a particularly clear example of how far they had moved from their roots in the German hardcore and metal scene into their own slow-motion world of doom jazz, ambient tension and nocturnal melody.

The record's eleven instrumental pieces are built with unusual restraint. Christoph Clöser and Morten Gass are credited as the main writers, and the arrangements revolve around Clöser's tenor saxophone, vibraphone and piano set against Gass's organ, Mellotron and synthesizer textures, with Robin Rodenberg anchoring everything on bass. Even without a full-time drummer, the music never feels underpowered; it feels distilled. The title track stretches past nine minutes, while pieces such as "Sollen Es Doch Alle Wissen" and "Vergessen & Vorbei" show how Bohren can draw out melody without breaking their spell.

What makes Patchouli Blue so rewarding is the way it balances weight and lightness. The band keep their trademark late-night mood, but several reviews noted a gentler, more tender pull than on earlier records, with harmony and texture pushed to the front. If you come to Bohren for glacial pacing, deep atmosphere and that peculiar space between jazz, ambient and doom, this is one of their most finely focused sets.

Features

• 2xLP, Red Transparent Vinyl
• Gatefold sleeve

Reviews

• Patchouli Blue is consistent with the band's best work. - All About Jazz