Causa Sui Have Enough Summer for the Whole Damn Year
Finally collected on CD for those of us who prefer our schallplatten on tiny, ungrooved slabs of digitally readable plastic, the three volume Summer Sessions from Danish jam-masters Causa Sui offer a shot of warmth no matter the season, boasting free-form instrumental explorations across a trio of distinct (both physically and sonically) discs from Elektrohasch. Whether it’s the Krautrock jamming throughout, the organ or the horns that pop up, Causa Sui manage to retain both an identity and a flow amidst all the obvious improvisation and spontaneity, Summer Sessions Vol. 1-3 relying a good bit on the kind of unplanned magic that can only come when someone presses record and a band lets itself go outside the reaches of structure.
Of course, these jams (as do most) follow a structure all their own, of peaks and valleys, builds and payoffs, atmospheric phenomena dancing a blue Sunday all over “The Open Road” from Vol. 2 — whatever the hell that means — while the natural peacefulness of the band so clearly in their element is carried over as dreamily as the fleeting melodies themselves. But, the whole verse/chorus thing, which is what’s typically meant by structure as it relates to the pop/rock format, is nowhere to be found and not at all missed. Causa Sui engage in psych bliss, material across all three sessions of the swirls and waves you’d have to expect given the focus on ambience throughout.
Vol. 1 and 2 each offer an especially lengthy jam, the former with opener “Visions of Summer” (24:39) and the latter with closer “Tropic of Capricorn” (23:01), and though the longest cut on Vol. 3 is the gleefully riffy “Red Valley” (oddly, “Manifestations of Summer,” which is listed on the back of the digipak as being 15:38, seems entirely absent from the actual disc), by the time you’ve made it that far into the usually three- here five-piece’s heady territory, I can just about promise it won’t make a difference as to your listening experience. Summer Sessions Vol. 1-3 is the kind of release that, if you are going to take it all on at once, needs complete submission from your ears. That’s not to say you shouldn’t pay attention to it or use it as some kind of sonic wallpaper (you can do that later, but give it a real listen first) while you clean up the room, but just that you have to relax your expectations and be willing to go wherever Causa Sui take you.
Fortunately, where they take you is someplace warm and sunny and hospitable in almost every way. Listening to Summer Sessions Vol. 1-3 is like being given an icy drink after you’ve been in the sun for too long. Refreshing, engaging in a manner you wouldn’t necessarily expect, and wholly satisfying. Causa Sui want for nothing in constructing this overarching atmosphere, but digested individually, each Summer Session has something separate to offer apart from the others as well, effectively doubling its listenability. In whatever context you choose to partake, understand that this is not bang-your-head metal or get-drunk-and-puke stoner rock. Causa Sui hone a classic path of experimentation into something sweet and enticing that maintains a balance between the edgy and smoother sides of psychedelic jam rock. Summer Sessions Vol. 1-3 makes a great companion for Los Natas’ Toba Trance or München Sessions, but mostly is best entirely in its own space.
Tags: Causa Sui, Denmark, Elektrohasch
