As I lurch deeper into the overgrown woods of middle age, I’m grateful I still have friends who can surprise me with bonkers records I’ve never heard of. This isn’t because bonkers records I’ve never heard of are in short supply—it’s a big world out there—but rather because most folks give up on seeking out unfamiliar music well before they turn 50.
Formed in 2018 by Belgian multi-instrumentalist Guillaume Cazalet, Neptunian Maximalism is a confounding collective with an unstable lineup. They’d already put out three live records and an EP by June of this year, when they released a gloriously excessive 123-minute triple studio album called Éons. That’s what Doug was talking about.
Neptunian Maximalism recorded Éons way back in March 2018, not long after the collective came together, and since then their lineup has changed and grown: they’ve replaced both drummers and added six new members (if you count the one handling live visuals). Their instrumentation now includes not just guitar, bass, drums, percussion, gongs, saxophone, sitar, flute, and trumpet but also synths, saz, and setar (as well as another bass and two more guitars).
