Enter the final frontier. On Wave Refraction, Austin fivepiece Sungod continues rocketing through the sort of dense instrumentals pioneered by psychedelic savants Sun Ra and Tangerine Dream. Like predecessors Contackt and Sungod, the band itself delves into expansive sprawls of prog-rock spirals, synth burners, and rock maelstroms. Reverb and electronic flourishes swirl along the cosmos on second track “Hypnotism,” splashes of tom-tom work skirting along an asteroid belt. While that channels Krautrock admiration, the ambience of “Dream Sequence” looks to Pink Floyd as the North Star, and “Von Innen” adds four to the floor dance in a manner reminiscent of latter Kraftwerk. The nine-minute title track opus layers transcendental synths into a cosmic bed with plumes of lucid flute solos and fretwork triptychs. Wave Refraction jumps an interstellar cruise through celestial territory.
This article appears in August 24 • 2018.