It’s been almost three years since we’ve heard from Causa Sui, the Danish four-piece powerhouse that hail from Odense, Denmark. That album, 2017s Vibraciones Doradas, was a tight but heavy follow-up to the behemoth that was Return To Sky. Five tracks of hazy psych and heady rock that would end that year on a very high note.
Even though Causa Sui has been quiet, members Jonas Munk, Rasmus Rasmussen, Jess Kahr, and Jakob Skøtt have remained busy with projects like Astral TV, Videodrones, Ellis/Munk Ensemble, Billow Observatory, and Martin Rude & Jakob Skott Duo to name a few. The guys have kept the creative vibes flowing throughout, which now leads us to a whole new Causa Sui trip, Szabodelico.
Though the band is known for heavy psych rock excursions, dabbling in Sabbath-ian riffage and stoner rock grooves, Causa Sui has always been about moving forward and expanding their sonic palate. They never stick to just one trip, man. That’s apparent in not only the band’s own discography, but in what each individual member dives into creatively and artistically on their own. Each record showed new sides and new influences; from the classic 60s psych and classic rock, to 70s German electronic and experimentalism, to the 80s and 90s fuzz rock of Seattle, to even avante garde noise excursions. Summer Sessions, Pew’tr Sessions, Euporie Tide, Return To Sky, and Vibraciones Doradas each showed a band never settling in, but blowing out the walls and expanding to new heights.
With Szabodelico, Causa Sui lock into quieter moods and breezier outlooks, taking inspiration in the unknown. The album was culled from long recording sessions that took place in 2019 and early 2020, and then mixed by Jonas Munk over the summer. The record lives within the spirit of classic Rudy Van Gelder sessions and the adventurous musical world of late 60s and early 70s ECM Records. It ranges from the groovy complexities of Miles’ Filles de Kilimanjaro to the serene psych of Florian Fricke’s Popol Vuh to the experimental jazz of Gabor Szabo’s Bacchanal.
The bombast of previous Causa Sui albums is left behind, and in its place is soulful, extended passages with room to breathe and spread out. Songs that organically grow in depth with each listen. That’s not to say these songs aren’t heavy. The tracks on Szabodelico are heavy in terms of composition and their invitation extended to you to take the journey.
With first single “La Jolla” the band creates a sort of slow motion psychedelia; a blossoming jam with a delicate uplift that continues to build throughout the song. It’s reminiscent of some of the sunnier moments of Summer Sessions, but you come away feeling like this is something new and exciting both artistically and sonically for Causa Sui. It brings vibes of a blossoming sunrise, or a sunset on fire in the distant horizon. This is a rock quartet fully locked in, and connecting to their classic rock roots here. Munk paints a kaleidoscopic mural with his guitar as Rasmussen builds sonic layers with keys. The rhythm section of Skøtt and Kahr lay a solid foundation with a slow motion swing that gives the song wings.
Szabodelico opens a whole new door for Causa Sui. It’s a long form excursion into thoughtful and expansive tracks over two LPs. The band lock into some spacey and heady trips this time around, giving us the long-awaited return of one our most forward-thinking bands expanding their musical landscape and our minds yet again.
Listen to “La Jolla” below, and preorder ‘Szabodelico’ here. It arrives November 13th.
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