Again there is the catchy groove and the distinctive melodicism that define the typical Shalosh sound. Again there is that three-piece compactness that is already in the Hebrew "three" significant band name. "An Israeli power trio. Heavy jazz!", the German Rolling Stone and the Times critic heard a "promise". Deutschlandfunk radio talked about "jazz in the fast lane" that is once again reaching "young jazz fans all over Europe." Each of the three musicians, who live close to each other in Tel Aviv, feeds their musical preferences of jazz, classical, grunge, rock, techno or folk into the common organism, which condenses the elements into an exciting mixture. In inspiring concerts around the globe, this has been further refined without under-challenging the audience. This music aims equally at heart, intellect and legs. It could have continued like this, but much has changed since 2020's "Broken Balance." "It's a different world," says Gadi Stern, "you can hear that on the new album. Back then everything was fine, almost nothing was missing. Now there's a sense of the end of the world." So they put their music, which has always been a story-telling in sounds, into larger contexts. To do so, they thought up a story based on material from the Old Testament and the Odyssey. With their rhapsodic mix of Christian and Greek mythology, they found a connection of world cultures and a common thread for their album. A young hero travels into the unknown. Unknown, however, is not only the outer world, but also one's own inner self. But every journey is also accompanied by self-assurance, which makes one stronger. "Tales of Utopia" is about how utopian thinking is based on the occupation with one's own self, on concentration and meditation as an antidote to information overkill. Shalosh formulate their music as a refuge. In a crisis-ridden world, they want to give strength and comfort, inspire imagination and provide support against pandemics, tanks and slogans. As in a station drama, they create images of reaching the great city with its flood of new impressions in which the hero must find his way, of being overwhelmed by stimuli at the market with smells, colors and movements, of dramatically leaving the metropolis at sunset, of the lurching boat on the ocean, of the three sisters on the island who take care of the hero, their voices intertwining. The king's dreams are bifurcated in all the turbulence and stimulated by a bad advisor, until it all comes together in the happy ending in a Moroccan-inspired wedding song, where the band meets with friends to party with hand-clapping and singing in one room." The framework of this ever-valid story is provided by the memorable Shalosh sound, into which they fitted the stories as if they were in a large painting, matching the chronology of events to the musical flow. What was different this time was the recording process. Without headphones and amps, the three recorded their song-like stories close together, as if under live conditions. It sounded rougher and more direct, because the room was charged with dynamics. What was important was what the lyrics triggered musically. "Inside the room, we could escape the troubles of the world," recalls drummer Matan Assayag. "For three or four hours, we focused on the music and formulated our utopia. That way we could block out the daily pressures. That's the meaning behind the title. The previous album reflected the world outside, this one is about inner harmony." "Tales of Utopia" documents a search for poise and peacefulness. Gadi and Matan recently became fathers. That positive energy has flowed in, too. "Art makes the world better," they describe their intentions, "we want to bring beauty into the world and create a feeling that people can be happy with themselves. They have to learn that again and find a position next to the flood of information so that more and more doesn't mean less and less. Our children have been the best teachers in this because they are fascinated by small things. That's how you can overcome the destructive." There is more than the ubiquitous pragmatism. This gripping and colorful music invites you to be enchanted and to focus on the beauty all around. To do this, it relies on a human factor that does not strive for perfection, but for contemplative freshness, friction surfaces and vitality.