Katra Turana - The End (1985) [EP]

Katra Turana formed as a sort of avant-cabaret japanese troupe, led by Atsusai Hiroika, who presented as an avant la lettre non-binary front person - self-described as handling "female, male & effective voices" on their first album, which was mostly made up of frail childlike divagations, feverish flights of fancy, and mumbled secrets, that could only be half-listened, across half-lit rooms, through shut shoji screens. 

Given that, it was something of a surprise to find their following release, "The End", to showcase a rather more bouncy and empowered demeanour (that would carry into their second LP, Kimera, where some of this material would get picked up again), while being dedicated to Jim Morrison, and taking inspiration (for a couple of verses, anyway) from The Doors' terminal tour de force (which Katra Turana did come closer to cover on their literal Reboot album, from 2022; but where - Morrison's words being the only (vaguely) recognizable thing out of the original, and the music being mostly turned into something manically celebratory - the whole piece sounds as if it were being performed by a doomsday cult, in giddy anticipation of said end). 

So what did all that amount to? Basically, an unexpectedly fun and campy take on chamber prog; one actually fit to counteract the genre's dour propensity for making you want to commit suicide. And when you think about it (as bohemians everywhere generally have) it certainly seems to make sense. If love's lost, if life's failed, and if the world is in fact doomed, instead of slitting your wrists or going on a onetime sleeping pills diet, you might as well just go ahead and live a little. 

Or not.