JASON BIELER And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra – Postcards from the Asylum (2023)

The second CD from JASON BIELER And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra, “Postcards From The Asylum” boldly covers a ton of musical ground from metal to prog, from pop to psychedelic and back again. Fifteen genre bending songs containing over 74 minutes of music.
“Postcards From The Asylum” is the follow up to their critically acclaimed debut Songs For The Apocalypse and features special guests Marco Minneman, Todd “Dammit” Kerns, Ryo Okumoto, Andee Blacksugar, Edu Cominato, Ricky Sanders, Chris McLernon and more.
This is a crazy record with dark, twisted lyrical content wrapped in gorgeous cinematic melodies. A haunting, challenging and majestic display of creativity from a clearly disturbed source. 2021’s Songs For The Apocalypse was a surprisingly entertaining hit and showed that Bieler himself had lost none of his guitarist, vocal or eccentricity chops since the SAIGON KICK days.
“Postcards From The Asylum” is even better.

It certainly starts out in a ballpark, even if all the opening tracks are spread out a bit on the mounds. Opener Bombay is a straight tone-setting anthem, packed with layered harmonies and synth flairs that more than demand a singalong. Meanwhile, Heathens as an entity could have been lifted wholesale from the late 80s, a glam/punk rock mixture that cheeses along at a carefree pace replete with big guitar and no lack of imagined big hair.
Mexico is a silly number about sex and drugs presented as a soulful ballad that straddles the line between both without making either element too cringe-inducing; it’s a remarkably faithful recreation of any 1990s BON JOVI crooner but laced with a tongue-in-cheek sensibility that heads off any dirge-iness at the pass.

And then, just as you think you’re in for over an hour of choice cuts from one particular sort of dad’s record collection, Flying Monkeys drops in for a quick fever dream. A mad bit of experimentation featuring THE ARISTOCRATS’ Marco Minneman with a beat that can only be described as “rascally”, it’s a sharp shock to the senses that introduces the prog elements with car-crash subtlety. Bieler loves his prog, evidently, as there’s something from every era here – the lovely, drum-heavy Deep Blue being a particular RUSH-tinged highlight.

Meanwhile, the album continues to pull loose strings and turn random dials and generally seems to be having a good time all on its own. Bear Sedatives wraps a jaunty entertainer’s jingle around a crunchy hard rock record about depression killing the dinosaurs, another highlight of the slightly macabre sense of humour present throughout.
Sic Riff brings exactly what the title promises in a much more metal affair underscored by some of the daftest lyrics on the album, while Todd Kerns lends a recognisable bass hand in harmony-fest Beneath The Waves. The word “fun” was clearly written on the creative whiteboard and circled a few times and that’s exactly what Postcards is – backed up by no small amount of seriously impressive technical firepower that drives the whole experience forwards.

A 15 song odyssey of oddities, ”Postcards From The Asylum” serves up a genuinely enthralling, well-developed showcase. It’s a melodic force of its own special nature that eschews such commonalities like order and sense, but it’s done so bloody well from start to end that you simply won’t care.
If you love hooky, well written songs and you like every rock sub-genre from 1971 to 1996, this is a roller-coaster you’re exactly the right height to ride – just watch out for flying monkeys.
Highly Recommended

01 – Bombay
02 – Numb
03 – Heathens
04 – Mexico
05 – Birds of Prey
06 – Flying Monkeys
07 – Sic Riff
08 – The Depths
09 – Beneath the Waves
10 – Sweet Eliza
11 – 9981 Dark
12 – Feels Just Like Love
13 – Bear Sedatives
14 – Deep Blue
15 – Human Head

All songs conjured by: Jason Bieler & Baron Von Bielski
Andee Blacksugar: extra guitars, noises and solos
Edu Cominato: drums
Ricky Sanders: drums on Birds Of Prey
Marco Minneman: drums on Flying Monkeys
Todd “Dammit” Kerns: bass on Beneath The Waves
Ryo Okumoto: piano and hammond on Birds Of Prey
Chris McLernon: bass on Birds Of Prey
Larimount Dundlesmith: bass on Bombay
Wimsby Chimes: bass on Numb
Stralinksi Waka-waka: bass on Mexico
Baklava Jones: drums on Sweet Eliza
Raritan Normals: bass on Sic Riff
Roald Downhill Jr.: bass on Feels Just Like Love
Sketchy Drawings: strings on Mexico
Ambly Dwadston: bass on Bear Sedatives
The Bard Of Emmentaler: drums on 9981 Darkness
Wormbsy Troutlick: brass on 9981 Darkness
Stilton Shoebaggies: bass on Sweet Eliza
The Nightfish Smugglers: backing vocalizations throughout

Pre order:
www.amazon.com/Postcards-Asylum-Bieler-Bielski-Orchestra/dp/B0BT53L73R