CB3 – Aeons

Label: The Sign Records
Release date: 28 February 2020

Charlotta’s Burnin’ Trio, more well-known as CB3, hail from Malmö, Sweden, and come bearing their self-proclaimed gifts of explosive rock jams and cosmic soundscapes. Described as “The King Crimson of Malmö”, their sound is a calming, atmospheric, psychedelic rock with a tendency to fall into kaleidoscopic patterns that unwind like a Mandelbrot set. Completely instrumental, their “voice” can be heard in the sometimes chilling technicolor fuzz of Charlotta Andersson’s guitar or the commanding beats set by drummer Natanael Salomonsson, the bass played by Pelle Lindsjö adding an earthy body to grow from.

In 2018, CB3 released their first on-label album, From Nothing to Eternity, surprising those on the outside of the psychedelic and jazz scenes and enthralling those who were already fans. Previous to this, the trio has been doing live performances, touring with the likes of Monolord and Hällas, and even releasing a few live albums (Live in Action, 2016; Cult of the Crystals, 2018) between self-releases (Charlottas Burnin’ Trio, 2015; Adventures, 2017). This year marks the highly anticipated release of their newly composed album, Aeons.

The album begins in an absolute hurry with Zodiac and its vibrantly twisting, bubbly, and funky guitar screaming out above drums that can barely keep up. The track takes it time every now and then for the listener to catch back up, but never stops for long, finally giving in at the end on a loud and lingering note played off by several crashes of the cymbals. Next up, Sonic Blaze sticks true to its name with a whistling hiss in the background like the listener is being whisked away along with the fires started by Andersson’s fingers on her frets. The middle section of this track is a sudden quiet diversion filled with the rhythmic taps of Salomonsson on drums who beckons for the insistently urging strums from Lindsjö on bass. By the end, Andersson very slowly comes back with more fuzzily rolling notes before the whole thing builds to a quick prog-like crescendo, ending far too quickly. Acid Haze begins with a humming intro of monotonous tones from the guitar, backed by the occasional pounding of the drums. After this brief warm-up, the trio returns in top form, the slow and heavy beat fitting the taste of doom and stoner rock enthusiasts while Andersson achingly slowly builds up an intensely cascading and spine-tingling solo that blends in with the fuzz. Around midway, Salomonsson and Lindsjö fall back, Andersson playing out distress signals to a distant planet before the drums and bass return again in double time, showing the way home in a scalding blaze of foggy, pure psychedelia.

The halfway point of this album is the next track, Warrior Queen, which sounds very much like the fuzzed-out version of some TV show strongwoman heroine’s theme song, the clinking of armor and the sheathing of a sword practically audible behind the comfortable and almost bright melody. This vibe changes into a sludgy and almost off-key mess of blaring and continually shifting chord progressions, almost as if to imitate the sound quality reduction in an overplayed VHS of your favorite episode, warbling to a shaky stop when it reaches the end of the tape. The beginning of the last track on the album, Apocalypse, is almost suspiciously calm, an acoustic playing a dark folksy tune over Lindsjö’s thrumming bass. This peace is broken like a piercing light through the trees with a melody that feels like the theme song of the world’s last hero played in the hopes that someone will come and save those begging for salvation. The sudden inclusion of a saxophone is surprisingly welcome and its impressive solo over the bittersweet call for a hero evokes an emotion that can’t be described. Whatever that feeling is, it passes as this track comes to a quick end, leaving the listener excited, questioning, and desperate for more.

So much of CB3’s music sounds completely improvised, like a jazz band during the swing era reading the room and making it up as they go, yet upon a closer listen it is clear that every track is carefully composed with thoughtful deliberation. With CB3, minimalism meets freeform in a powerful and hypnotic combination that smells like roses and patchouli and tastes like the “sugar pill” the friendly hippie girl gave you to help you mellow. If any of that sounds appealing to you, or if you are just looking to dip your toe into some jazz-inspired psychedelia, Aeons is an absolute must-have for your collection as well as anything else from CB3’s catalogue.

Line up:

• Charlotta Andersson – Guitar
• Pelle Lindsjö – Bass
• Natanael Salomonsson – Drums

1. Zodiac
2. Sonic Blaze
3. Acid Haze
4. Warrior Queen
5. Apocalypse

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