Causa Sui hit – to my ears at least – a career high with last year’s excellent From The Source. It picked up where 2020’s Szabodelico left off. Szabodelico was steeped in tropicalia vibes; clean guitar lines, moody keys, and delicate percussion and bass gave the album a very vibe-heavy feel. A sound that was light-headed, dream-like, and psychedelic. From The Source brought prog vibes and 70s jams together in a blur of kaleidoscopic sound and fury.
The 4-piece from Odense, Denmark has made a name for themselves as rock and roll journeymen since their arrival in 2005 with their self-titled debut. Free Ride came next in 2007, sticking with the Southern California fuzz guitar worship. But 2008 hit and Jonas(guitar), Jess(drums), Rasmus(keys), and Jakob(drums) took the plunge into more introspective sounds; groove-heavy jams ala Grateful Dead, with ambient textures, cinematic scope, and a foot firmly planted in the world of early 70s German Krautrock(Ash Ra Tempel, Can, Popol Vuh.)
2025 marks 20 years since the band’s debut, and they’re celebrating with the excellent new long player In Flux. 50 minutes of fluid grooves, chiming guitars, and psychedelic keys that ebb and flow from pastoral soundscapes to cosmic exploration. Causa Sui are about reinvention and honing their sound, and In Flux is yet another leap in both.
“The Circus Is Back” is our entry point, and for being just under two minutes it makes its point. Flowing guitar jam with rolling drums and ethereal keys, it’s the perfect introduction the band’s new trip. “Milkweed’s Pod” swerves and grooves between Grateful Dead improv and the Pacific Northwest psych jams of Carlton Melton and Eternal Tapestry. The organ has Ray Manzarek vibes, and I’m here for it. Causa Sui aren’t afraid to flip the vibes on their head, and the synth-heavy album closer “Spree” is proof of that. It brings to mind past El Paraiso Records releases like Justin Pinkertons’s Aak’ab and Jonas Munk’s own Absorb Fabric Cascade.
There’s not a bad note played here. And while I love the epic 16-minute “Astral Shores” and all its jam glory; or the hazy, southern Cali mood of “Boogie Lord’s Revenge” I can’t stop listening to “Silver In The Gathering Light”. It’s an absorbing and optimistic slice of cosmic delights, bringing Causa Sui’s musical output together into one magical musical moment. Simply stunning. And “Modelo” somehow takes the spirit of “Riders On The Storm” and pulls us from some Cali desert death dream and puts us into a cosmic journey.
In Flux is yet another musical masterstroke from Denmark’s Causa Sui. They’re at the top of their game, and continue to push their sound forward to new, epic heights.
Buy ‘In Flux’ at El Paraiso Records.
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