Komara – Komara II (7D Media, 2025)
After a decade-long silence, the boundary-pushing trio Komara resurfaces with Komara II, an audacious return. The trio features King Crimson percussionist Pat Mastelotto, Slovak experimental guitarist David Kollar, and Italian trumpeter Paolo Raineri. Once more, the band defies categorization. This time they deliver more precision, more layers, and more collaborative depth. Their self-titled debut in 2015 was already a fever dream of avant-rock and progressive rock alchemy, but this new release is sharper, stranger, and more emotionally charged.
Right from the opening track, “Gerund,” the trio sets the tone with elegant trumpet lines that spiral through Kollar’s cinematic guitar and Mastelotto’s tactile, nuanced rhythms.
On “Allina Day,” echoes of Mastelotto’s Crimson past bubble to the surface, looped, meandering guitar lines glide over a muscular bass foundation.
“Not Our Way” leans fully into abstraction; ghostly spoken word and digital detritus goes in and out of focus. Meanwhile, “Relocating Children” explores trip-hop territory, pairing ethereal female vocals with soaring guitar melodies and an undercurrent of unease.
“Gray Apples Fall,” the record’s longest track, develops slowly and deliberately. Ambient drones and trumpet calls hover over laid-back guitar figures and a restrained beat, all cloaked in an atmosphere of haunted beauty.
Despite its brevity, “Judgement Day” punches hard, with avant-garde trumpet flourishes and sounds that recall Jon Hassell at his most turbulent. “Utorok Cowboy,” by contrast, is playful and cinematic, a spaghetti western hallucination driven by a galloping beat and flamethrower guitar licks.
Interludes like “Swallowing Tokyo” and “Komarantino” function as connective tissue, layering looped effects, scratchy guitars, and echoing trumpets.
“Burning Man” pulses with bass, sparse percussion, and a dual interplay of spoken word and trumpet improvisation.
Toward the end, “Squirm” delivers a bluesy guitar line. Finally, “The Returning (Reprise)” closes the album with calm guitars and ambient electronics beneath one last stream-of-consciousness vocal.
Once again, the trio is visually complemented by Adam Jones (Tool), whose cover design enhances the album’s sense of otherworldly exploration. And special guests, including trumpeter Arve Henriksen, vocalist Deborah Carter Mastelotto, and sound designer Bill Munyon, add depth without diluting the trio’s fundamental chemistry.
Buy Komara II.