CD REVIEW: Robin Taylor - Two-Pack Part 1 (2010 Marvel of Beauty Records)

I’ve covered Danish multi-instrumentalist Robin Taylor quite a few times here on BPB…mostly because he’s so bloody prolific!  Every time I turn around he has a new album or project under way…it can get pretty exhausting keeping up with him.

Robin’s newest release is a 2-disc set titled Two-Pack, interestingly enough.  More interesting is the fact that each disc features very different line ups and styles, is packaged individually in little sleeves, and is smaller than your average CD…they’re both mini-CDs, EPs really, with about 22 minutes of music on each.

Today we’ll be listening to and looking at the first disc in the set.

Disc 1 features Robin Taylor teamed up with Jacob Mygind or Carsten Sindvald on sax.  Taylor handles all the guitars and basses, while monster drummer Klaus Thrane keeps the beat.  Louise Nipper adds voice on one track, continuing a collaboration that stretches back years.

Things open up with the appropriately titled ‘Heavy Friends.’  A wall of individual almost skronking instruments sets things off on a very wild and improvisational footing, sounding as much like the conclusion of a piece as an opener.  The song grooves heavily, with sax bleating over a pounding, insistent rhythm.  Taylor’s bass and guitar mesh very well together, and it’s a bit difficult to take the very structured style in the context of a TFU release, since I associate that moniker with Taylor’s more improvisational side.  This is a heck of an opening track, however, heavy as the title implies and with a lot of meat on its bones.  It feels far grander than its relatively short length would imply.

‘The Ghost of Goran’ carries things on, and at nearly 10 minutes is one of Taylor’s longest tracks on any of his releases (that I currently own, anyway).  It’s much more laid back, with Sindvald’s sax the major vocal point.  His soprano sax playing is lyrical and beautiful, while his tenor playing offers up similar fluidness.  The opening 4+ minutes are subtle and ballad-like, but the song quickly builds in intensity after Sindvald switches to tenor.  Suddenly we’re listening to a piece every bit as intense and heavy as opener ‘Heavy Friends,’ and while I’d like to come up with comparisons for you, there just aren’t any.  The music is individual, sounding really like no other band, and it’s all the stronger for it.

This first disc closes up with another shorter piece, the 7-minute ‘Stoned Mushroom.’  Slightly jazzier, Taylor’s keyboards lay down some nice foundations for his guitar and bass playing, with Mygind’s tenor sax sounding boozy and sleazy over top.  This is the kind of song I could hear being played in a rock and jazz club, smoke leaving a haze as the band hits the groove and takes it as far as they can go.  While definitely a rock song, there’s enough jazz in here to add flavour and spice to the mix.  A breakdown at 4:30 leads to a sort of coda of the main theme…the false stop is a nice touch, lending a faux bonus track feel to the coda.

While you can’t buy this CD on its own, it serves as a nice taste of this particular line up, and meshes well with the second half of Two-Pack, which we’ll be taking a look at very soon!

Track Listing:

Heavy Friends 5:13
The Ghost of Goran 9:56
Stoned Mushroom 7:19

Musicians:
Robin Taylor – electric guitar, keyboards, basses, percussion
Jacob Mygind – tenor sax (1, 3)
Carsten Sindvald – soprano and tenor sax (2)
Klaus Thrane – drums
Louise Nipper – voice (2)

CD GUEST REVIEW: Half Past Four - Rabbit in the Vestibule

(Today's CD review is written by good friend Jeff Gutenberg...expect more reviews from him soon!)

This quirky quintet hails from the wilds of Canada, home of such prog-rock legends as Rush and Saga, but sounds nothing like either of those bands. Instead, vocalist Kyree Vibrant, guitarist Constantin Necresov, keyboardist Igor Kurtzman, bassist  Dmitry Lesov and drummer Ann Brody mine the perhaps somewhat more obscure but no less rewarding territory plumbed by the likes of Frank Zappa, Echolyn and Finneus Gauge.

The aptly named Ms. Vibrant’s vocal range seems practically limitless, and she brings a variety of emotional colors to these songs, always finding just the right tone and attitude for each lyric, whether cool and jazzy, as on “Johnny” or urgent and heartbreaking, as on the eight-minute epic “Biel,” and all points in between. She’s playful and fun on “The Ballad of Dwayne’s Plane,” with its Zappa-like humor, sultry and languorous on “Southern Boogie” (which is not a boogie tune at all!), dreamy and ethereal on “Underwater,” feisty and energetic on “Bamboo,”  another Zappa-esque bit of off-kilter whimsy. She’s a real find, and one of the great pleasures to be found in listening to this band.

Of course, this is a prog band, and that means the other people in the band can’t exactly be chopped liver either. Indeed, Mr. Necresov and Mr. Kurtzman solo with controlled abandon all over the album; the former is not a fret-burning speed demon, more of a tasty, melodic player, and his style fits in very well with Kurtzman’s more frenetic approach. Kurtzman, however, is not just a fine soloist on the synthesizer, but he’s also very adept at using electric and acoustic pianos for tones and shading. As for the rhythm section, Mr. Lesov is a supple, supportive bassist who slips his lines in and around everything else that’s going on, while Ms. Brody’s drumming is never less than superb, navigating through tricky time and tempo changes with ease, while propelling the music ever forward.

The standout tracks on an album full of standouts include the aforementioned epic “Biel,” which pulls out all the stops with chanted vocals, acoustic guitars, and fantastic guitar and synth solos, ending dramatically with a lone snare drum plaintively echoing into space; the moody, evocative instrumental “Lullaby,” which features lots of dynamic light and shade, and another terrific synth solo; the album’s other epic, “Poisoned Tune,” vies with “Biel” for the honor of being the album’s best overall track, with yet another great vocal performance (and a dark, haunting lyric that makes reference to ‘the poisoned tune within’), scintillating guitar/keyboard interplay, and an almost Gentle Giant-ish kind of feel. And the disc’s other instrumental, “Salome,” is a marvelous piece of Middle Eastern jazz, complete with a wonderful saxophone solo, really dexterous drumming, and perhaps the best guitar solo on the album.

Rabbit in the Vestibule is a very rewarding listen on all levels, offering something a little different – a little humor, a lot of energy, and a great deal of thoughtful composition and arrangement. If you’re looking for prog that doesn’t revolve in the endless Yes/Genesis orbit, and you enjoy the sound of a female voice out front, you really can’t do much better than Half Past Four. Four stars - highly recommended.

Track Listing:

Missing Sevenths 2:38
Johnny 2:55
Poisoned Tune 7:53
Southern Boogie 4:15
Twelve Little Words  5:18
Underwater 4:58
Lullaby 4:21
Strangest Dream 6:30
Biel 8:15
The Ballad of Dwayne’s Plane 4:53
Salome 2:46
Bamboo 2:41
Rabbit 6:09

Line-Up:

Kyree Vibrant – vocals
Constantin Necresov – guitars
Igor Kurtzman – keyboards
Dmitry Lesov – bass
Ann Brody – drums & percussion

www.halfpastfour.com
www.myspace.com/halfpast4

CD REVIEW: simakDialog - Demi-Masa (2009, Moonjune Records)

There are times I think these self aware CD review openings are a little anti-climactic.

After all, by the time I get to the review, you already know what I’m going to be writing about (the title at the top is always a dead giveaway), and it’s not as if this extra text is all that necessary.  Of course, I do rather enjoy setting the stage for the review, and as such for the time being they’ll be staying around.

In any event…

One of the more exciting things about NEARfest,other than the bands, and discovering new bands I’d never heard of, and the hanging out with friends I get to see once a year, and all of that, is finding out who’ll be playing the festival the next year.  Usually we’ll get at least one announcement, and sometimes two, which will whet the appetite and help to start building excitement for the next year’s festival.  This year was no exception, with the organisers announcing Gösta Berlings Saga and simakDialog for NEARfest 2011.

Gösta Berlings Saga is a band I am semi-familiar with, if for no other reason than members of GBS are also involved in the Makajodama project, which I absolutely loved last year.  SimakDialog, on the other hand, was a completely unknown quantity for me.  I knew they were Indonesian, but that was quite frankly the extent of any knowledge I had of them.  It was fortunate, then, that I was given an opportunity to check out some of their material courtesy of Leonardo at Moonjune Records, the band’s label.

We’re going to start off with a look at Demi-Masa, the band’s 2009 studio album.

On Demi-Masa, simakDialog is a 5 piece augmented by 3 guest musicians.  Much of the material sees piano and guitar as the focal points, and the respective musicians (Riza Arshad on piano, Tohpati Ario on guitar) are incredibly expressive players.  Their style is intensely jazzy, with just a touch of Soft Machine-esque fusion to temper things.  Tohpati is particularly engaging, with his playing shifting from subtle to intense in the blink of an eye.  I really think he’s a player to watch out for…before hearing Demi-Masa I’d not been familiar with him at all, and I already consider him a special and unique musicalvoice that rates up there wil some of my favourite Canterbury/fusion players.  They are backed by Adhitya Pratama, whose bass playing is incredibly subtle, but perfect for this kind of ensemble playing, and Endang Ramdan and Erlan Suwardana on sundanese kendang (a two-headed drum often used in gamelan as one of the primary instruments in those ensembles).  The quieter percussion (no kit drumming here!) lends a softer feel to everything, which may seem to lessen the impact of some of the more intense playing, but actually does the opposite.

On Demi-Masa, this quintet is joined by Emy Tata (sundanese kendang, claps, vocals track 2), Mian Tiara (vocals traack 7) and Dave Lumenta (soundscapes track 8).

Musically…wow.  I’m not sure where to begin.  And frankly, as I have inferred, I wasn’t at all sure what I’d be hearing when I popped the CD in the first time.  Part of me expected…well, intense musicianship for one.  Heavy accents on percussion for two.  But I suppose I did expect something that would be closer to Gamelan or a similar style, and with my exposure to Gamelan influences being mostly as a result of some of the things King Crimson was doing in the 1980’s, I suppose I expected something a bit rockier and in my face.  Instead I got a heavy dose of subtlety, shifting tracks that flow from quiet calm to intense wailing, yet always in a somewhat restrained, measured fashion.  This is definitely fusiony stuff…at least on Demi-Masa, and I think people who like the more free-form sounds of later Soft Machine, with emphasis on impressive guitar playing, will love this.

I am particularly enamoured of the cool percussive and vocal elements of ‘Salilana Kedua,’ layered with excellent drumming, polyrhythms stacked atop more polyrhythms, everything melting together in a wonderfully fluid melange that never feels jumbled or difficult to manage.  Tohpati even shines on acoustic guitar…and while I am faling inextricably in love with his electric playing, his acousitc work merits note as well.  The subtle opening of ‘Tak Jauh Pertama’ leads into far more intense instrumental interplay, with some of the most intense electric guitar soloing on the album, while ‘Tak Jauh Kedua’ showcases some incredibly lyrical piano and Rhodes playing from Arshad.

A trio of shorter pieces follows, all with the prefix ‘Trah Lor’ (Northern People).  The first of these, ‘Trah Lor – Laras’ is dramatic, with very cool piano playing and subtle percussive accents behind.  ‘Trah Lor – Rupa’ builds from this, with almost Zappa-esque synth sounds and arrangements that are very much unlike other pieces on the album.  The final part of the trilogy is Trah Lor – Tapak,’ which wraps up the multi-part suite with a dose of soundscapes and ethereal, other worldly vocals from Mian Tiara.  The result is striking…while so much of simakDialog’s material seems so earthy and centered, this piece takes the elements we’ve heard thus far and launches them into the cosmos.  It is a wildly different composition, as each of the three in this suite have been.

‘Disapih’ wraps the album up as the final track.  A 13-minute extended piece, it’s a final chance for the band to shine, and they do so throughout.  Tohpati’s guitar playing is wonderful, with a slightly fuzzed tone that almost mimics (but doesn’t quite) an electric sitar, with some wonderful guitar/drum unisons that seem almost telepathic.  Arshad’s Rhoses chops are on fine display, and Adhitya Pratama’s bass lines are so graceful and fluid, mixed perfectly and adding warmth and a pulse that brings the piece to life.  It’s light, it’s uplifting, it’s Canterbury meets fusion in Southeast Asia with just the right amount of each.

While I still have another simakDialog album to review for you, Constant Reader, it’s best to start with their newest work.  And Demi-Masa is a brilliant album that offers up its treasures slowly but surely to the devoted listener.  I think this is music that will go over very well in a live setting, and I think they may well be one of the surprises of NEARfest 2011.  Demi-Masa’s well worth searching out.


Track Listing:
1.  Salilana Pertama (Forever, Part 1)  14:01  
2.  Salilana Kedua (Forever, Part 2) 6:46 
3.  Tak Jauh Pertama (Not So Far, Part 1) 7:42 
4.  Tak Jauh Kedua (Not So Far, Part 2) 9:11 
5.  Trah Lor - Laras (Northern People - Voices) 2:28 
6.  Trah Lor - Rupa (Northern People - Faces) 3:41 
7.  Trah Lor - Tapak (Northern People - Prints) 3:46 
8.  Karuhun (To Elders) 9:06 
9.  Disapih (Separate Away) 13:16


Musicians:
Riza Arshad - rhodes piano, acoustic piano, soundscapes
Tohpati Ario - electric/acoustic guitars
Adhitya Pratama - electric bass
Endang Ramdan - sundanese kendang (prime)
Erlan Suwardana - sundanese kendang (2nd)


Find out more:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=214645531118&v=wall&ref=ts
http://myspace.com/simakdialog

CD REVIEW: Dean Watson - Unsettled

Dean Watson contacted me a short bit ago following my review of Relocator’s debut CD, asking if I might be interested in checking out his album Unsettled.  I’d heard some very good things about the release, so it sounded like something that’d be of interest to me, and I encouraged him to send along a copy at his convenience.  I’ve been listening to this one for a while now, and today we’re going to take a closer look at it.

Dean Watson comes from Ontario, and Unsettled is a solo album in just about every way.  He’s written all the music and played everything.  Every guitar, every keyboard, every bass, every programmed drum note…it’s all Dean.  That’s a benefit and a detriment…while the music is incredibly locked in, incredibly tight (yet with admirable space), the lack of a live drummer (even if he were playing an electronic kit with triggered samples from, say, the Drumkit from Hell) is for me a shortcoming.  Drum hits, especially on faster sections, remind of machine gun fire, and the limitation of the sample set being used really creates an entirely too precise, clinical drum sound.  That ultimately includes the programming…either that, or Dean Watson is the world’s most precise electronic drummer ever, in which case I’ll have to apologise for that comment but still wish that there was a more diverse sample set being used.

I don’t have the same complaints about his bass/guitar/keyboard playing.  His bass work is fluid and effortless, with a nice round tone.  His guitar playing ranges from thick and crunchy to clean and shimmering, while he picks some great keyboard patches, including a really warm, real sounding Hammond tone that I still am not certain isn’t the real thing.  Since he plays everything there might be a concern about things getting too tight, and while there’s plenty of tight playing, there’s some nice space in these compositions that makes things work well.

The first three tracks on Unsettled do a great job of showcasing the breadth and scope of this release.

We start off with ‘The Encounter.’  When I played the album for the first time, and heard the marinba tone being used, my first thought was ‘Ooh, Zappa!’  We don’t remain in fields of Zappaesque sound for long, but it was a cool little nod, intentional or otherwise.  The drumming underneath is incredibly complex, and I think it’d be ever so much more impressive with a live kit.  Add in some heavy guitar and shifting keyboard patches…swirly synth here, organ there…and you have all the ingredients for an impressive album opener.  It’s nice to come out of the gates with a barnstormer of a track, and ‘The Encounter’ definitely is that.  Heavy, dexterous, with some nice shifts in tempo and time, and we’re definitely off on the right foot.

‘The Push’ takes us in a different direction entirely.  For me, if ‘The Encounter’ was a showcase for Watson’s guitar playing (and it really was), then ‘The Push’ gives us a taste of Watson’s killer keyboard chops.  Loads, veritable oodles of Hammond organ lace this track almost from the opening beat, with some Yamaha GX-1 like synth adding more colour and texture.  True story…I was listening to this one in the store I work at a week or so ago, and a customer came in and nearly dropped the receiver he was carrying in shock as he exclaimed to his wife ‘Oh my god, it’s a new ELP song!’  I suppose it was the organ playing, when I think about it, but I can see it too in some ways.  This is definitely a bit more bop-jazz like than the stuff I usually hear Emerson copping from, but I’d take it as a compliment if it were me.

Our third side of Watson’s playing comes out on ‘Out of the Mist,’ which offers up some lovely and lyrical bass playing.  I really like the laid back vibe of this track as it opens, with gentle synth textures colouring and adding shape to the really gorgeous bass playing.  At 8:27, this is the longest piece on the album, and honestly as gorgeous as it is, it’d probably overstay its welcome if there weren’t some kind of, oh, let’s say shocking development in the song.  And at 4:09, when the first chord comes crushing and crashing down over the acoustic guitar and synth orchestration, that development drops in with a sudden shock.  The synth playing reminds of Mahavishnu in colour, the electric guitar chords (or chord, really) are almost bludgeoning in contrast with the rest of the musical backing, and the tension is palpable.  The closing two minutes almost seem like another song entirely, far more metallic and heavier than anything we’ve had thus far, presenting one final contrast in a composition that seems based entirely around them.

‘Sequence of Events’ takes the heaviness that closed out ‘Out of the Mist’ and wraps in it a skittery, almost contrapuntal beat.  And oh, there’s contrasts a plenty in this one too, as out heavy bar fusion band drops out at 2:20 in favour of a small club trio, brushes on virtual cymbals, cool jazz organ and a pulsing little beat on bass.  I’d love to have seen this explored a bit more…it’d have fit nicely in or around a track like ‘The Push,’ and while you might think it out of place, it fits on this album perfectly.  We get another cool little beat on ‘DIP,’ very syncopated, with piano and a warm, saturated guitar tone alternating melodic figures before some staccato organ chords enter the fray.  I’d almost call this one jaunty if that word weren’t so overused that it’s lost meaning.  This time I have to say the shift to much heavier territories seems a little less smooth, but I won’t complain too much, because the song as a whole is strong enough that I go with the flow anyway.

‘The Departure’ reminds me of Jeff Beck for some strange reason.  At least the opening moments do, up to about 3:00 in.  The mix of organ and warm guitar just scream Beck a la Blow by Blow or Wired.  Warm, sorrowful, lyrical, it’s a lovely instrumental that shifts at that previously mentioned 3 minute mark to heavier territories.  Marimba pops its head in again for a quick hello on the closing fade, and as good as that closing minute plus is, I miss that 70’s fusiony rock goodness that opened things up.

Unsettled closes out with our ‘title track,’ the 2:17 ‘Still (Unsettled).’  Gentle percussion and acoustic guitar are the colours for this track, and after an album of heavy rock, intense fusion, and hot jazzy workouts, it seems a bit odd to conclude the album on such a restrained, quiet track.  But I think it’s a daring little number, and the dearth of intensity actually works well in its favour, by offering up a different kind of intensity, built by tension and restraint.

Unsettled’s not a perfect album…I’m not at all keen on the programmed drumming, and I think at times there are some stylistic shifts in mid song that weaken a track or two.  Having said this, Unsettled is still a hell of a strong album, one that will not only satisfy the heavy metal/fusion heads out there, but also fans of 70’s prog and fusion looking for a new fix to satisfy their itch.  I have a feeling this is one that I’ll be spinning for a while, as it continues to satisfy even after dozens of listens.


Track Listing:
The Encounter
The Push
Out of the Mist
Sequence of Events
DIP
The Departure
Gray Matter
Orb
11th Heaven Blues
Still (Unsettled)


Musicians:
For Unsettled all music written and performed entirely by Dean Watson.


Find out more:
www.myspace.com/deanwatson2

CD REVIEW: District 97 - Hybrid Child (2010, Laser's Edge)

There is a word, perhaps the worst word that can ever be uttered with respect to a prog band.

It is worse than being called a clone.  Far worse than being labeled derivative.  And compared to being called twee?  It’s in another league entirely.

That word, Constant Readers, is hype.

It’s OK.  I’ll wait till the tremors die down.

(waits)

All good now?

Hype is something most prog music fans seem to greet more with disdain or outright fear than with open, welcoming arms.  Hype happens at all levels of progdom, from a new release from a classic era band being called ‘their best since (insert epoch-defining album title here)’ to a new band’s debut release being elevated pre-release to the pantheon of greats.  I’ve learned to tune hype out, usually ignoring it entirely.  At my worst, however, I see a hyped band or album and actively stay away from it, because there’s no way the band can live up to the hype.  Not ever.

This has been a very long lead-in for a review of an album that has been getting hype for months now, District 97’s debut release Hybrid Child.  It’s out now on Laser’s Edge Records, home to a load of bands I have loved.

Now, for some of you, hearing me talk about hype may seem disingenuous.  After all, I run a blog, I post news articles about new and forthcoming releases all the time (like the posts I’ve done with D97 videos).  I do interviews (like the one I did with D97 drummer Jonathan Schang).  In some ways, I am a cog in the hype machine.  I understand this.  It doesn’t mean that I like it all the time, and I do try to balance things out so things aren’t that overly hype based and more grounded on what is really going on, rather than grandiose claims that will never be fulfilled.

The question that now arises, of course, and I can hear you asking this, is this…does Hybrid Child live up to the hype?

Let’s take a closer look and see.

Here are the basic facts: District 97 is a 6-piece band, musically a mix of progressive metal, fusion and some serious pop sensibilities.  Their music can range from thrashy metal to lush symphonic progressive rock, often in the course of the same song.  Hooks and melodies abound…these aren’t just intricate bits of music with all flash and no substance…of course, having said this, there’s lots of sections showcasing some serious musical chops.  Add in a cellist who plays for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and a singer who appeared on American Idol, and…it’s a pretty interesting and heady mixture.

Of course, those last two elements are the ones getting most of the attention.  Everyone I know who is familiar with the band starts off with the fact that vocalist Leslie Hunt was on American Idol, and that cellist Katrinka Kleijn plays with the CSO, like these are carefully chosen things to try and build more attention and, well, hype.  If neither of them could pull their weight, I’d give credence to this viewpoint.  The fact is, both of them pull their own weight and then some.  It is very interesting to hear cello used so prominently in this kind of music, and more interesting still that it’s not played the way one might expect.  There aren’t a lot of long, sorrowful, mournful lines being offered up…a lot of time it almost seems Kleijn plays her cello like an oversized violin, with plenty of fleet fingered, skipping lines and solos that sound so much not at all like what we expect a cello to sound like.

Then there’s Leslie Hunt.  Let’s face it, her voice is again not what we expect in progressive rock.  She brings a lot of pop sensibility and delivery to her vocals, and it’s something that’s unfamiliar.  Thankfully her vocalisation is not filled with faux soul or loads of melisma and forced inflection.  Her voice shows range and flexibility as well…at times crystal clear and innocent, other times a touch harsher and more world wise.  It’s a fine voice, and one that should continue to grow with time and development.

This is not to say the rest of the band is not worth mentioning.  Jonathan Schang is a hell of a drummer, chops to spare and the ability to unleash when necessary, or hold back when it suits the song.  Jim Tashjian is a beast of a guitarist, and I can’t praise his playing enough.  Nor can I say enough good things about Rob Clearfield’s keybaord chops.  At times his playing has a nice Jobson-in-UK-esque feel to it, and that plays into some of his patch choices as well.  He also plays a mean baritone guitar too.  Finally, when I can hear him, Patrick Mulchay’s bass playing is lyrical, warm and spot on.  His solos are great, and when he is mixed up, his playing is revelatory, and such a huge part of the songs.  At times I think there’s a bit of difficulty for me to differentiate some of the lower cello work from his bass playing, as they sometimes sit in similar register, but when separated…both benefit from the other.

Hybrid Child to me feels almost like two separate EP’s welded together in the middle.  The first half of the album consists of 4 mid-length songs (6 to 9 minutes in length), mostly vocally oriented.  The second half of the release is a single 27-minute, 10-part suite with an overarching title of ‘Mindscan.’  Interestingly enough, both halves work well together; there’s no weakness resulting from the disparity of these two very different sections.  The first half opens up with the propulsive and energetic ‘Don’t Wanna Wait Another Day,’ filled to the brim with some amazing cello riffs and lines and powerful vocals.  Immediately one is struck by the vocal delivery, which, with its reliance on mannerisms more at home in contemporary pop and rock music, seems to be unlike anything heard in prog to date.  There’s no worry about confusing Leslie Hunt with female prog singers from the past, and it almost seems like a statement of intent in a lot of ways.  I like the shift to the spacier, quieter section part way through, which allows for a short breather before picking back up full speed again.  It’s a powerful opening track, showing a lot of modern sensibilities and influences.

Up next is a track most people here should be familiar with, as it was the lead single released several months back.  ‘Can’t Take You With Me’ verges on overplayed for me, which sounds weird, but considering how much I’ve heard of it over the past few months waiting for the album to show up, you’d understand why.  The album version adds two more minutes of instrumental workout to this tightly composed, poppy tune, with a load of UK-like influences winding their way through things.  Yes, I do consider this their UK piece, and I can’t help it.  Still, it’s an enjoyable number…it was catchy enough that the video that looped at NEARfest 2010 interested me in finding out more.  I’d like to hear this one played live, to see if the band stretches it out any more…but as enjoyable a song as it is, I probably need a break from it.  At least short term.

‘The Man Who Knows Your Name’ is another song that relies on disparity in styles and shifts in tone.  The opening riff is pretty relentless, with powerful drum/bass interlocked sections and a nice, but not quite heavy enough guitar riff over top.  Had they pumped up things just a bit, I’d be headbanging away.  But then keyboards kick in, we hit more fusiony realms, and the heaviness feels boosted just a bit by the solo atop it.  Vocal sections again enter dreamier realms, and the shifts are organic and smooth.  Kleijn offers up a few tasty cello solos, Schang’s drumming is tight and punchy, and Tashjian’s guitar work is fluid…heavy where required, lyrical as needed.  The longest of the tracks on the first half of the album at 8:49, it allows for a decent bit of stretching out instrumentally.  It also sets up the very heavy, very thrashy, and surprising ‘Termites,’ which closes out what I’d think of as ‘Side A’ of this debut record.  If you told me that Leslie Hunt co-wrote the song, I’d have given you a weird look, but she did.  A series of surreal scenes set to some blistering thrash metal, it’s a surprising track that sounds like nothing else on the album.  Of course, the fact that there’s very little keyboard playing here helps that…Clearfield instead picks up a baritone guitar and happily flails away with the rest of the band.  It’s not quite tech/thrash, but I’ll be damned if it’s not something I keep repeating because it’s really flipping cool.

Hybrid Child closes out in a grandiose manner, with the 10-part, 27-minute epic ‘Mindscan.’  Now, while I was bad and listened to ‘Can’t Take You With Me’ about 5 zillion times leading up to the release of this album, I did not listen to any of ‘Mindscan’ before getting the CD, even though the entire epic is up on Youtube in live concert versions.  Thus, I had no idea what it was I was getting into.  Knowing what I know from the interview I did with D97 drummer Jonathan Schang a few months back, I knew that the band started out as an instrumental group a la Liquid Tension Experiement, and I had images of a track similar to LTE’s ‘Three Minute Warning’…a.k.a., a massive instrumental filled chock a block with loads of unison lines, intense instrumental workouts, and not necessarily tight songwriting or hooks.

I shouldn’t have feared.

This 10-part epic has plenty of vocal sections scattered amongst the instrumental movements, and there’s plenty of variety to be had.  Some of the lushest, most symphonic moments on this album are held on this track, as well as some of the more intense instrumental bits as well.  Yes, it’s a bit of everything plus the kitchen sink…oh, and some closets and a table as well…kind of song, but it works very well.  Is it perhaps a bit overlong at 27:36?  Maybe.  Don’t ask me what to edit out though, because I couldn’t tell you.  I can say that I love the space-like, almost Floydian opening movement ‘Arrival,’ the lovely use of piano and cello on ‘Entrance,’ and the heavier take on things in ‘Realisation.’  ‘Welcome,’ the first vocal section, is almost Dream Theater like, reminding me somehow of some of the sections of ‘Octavarium,’ while ‘Examination’ is strange, with ambient sounds, weird glitch like parts, and copious quantities of WTF abounding.  The lyrics to ‘Hybrid Child’ remind me of Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, while the use of piano and gentle, gradual builds is well executed.  ‘Exploration’ and ‘What Do They Want’ are really two of a kind, based around the same riffs and instrumental parts, with the first being instrumental, the second adding in some very nice vocal parts setting off the heavier instrumental backing.  There’s a lot of vocal doubling and harmony on display here, really adding a nice extra bit of colour to things.  ‘When I Awake’ gives us out last vocal performance of the album, set against some heavier symphonic rock.  I’d love to hear some extended works from the band in this style…it’s a different feel entirely, and one they seem to excel at.  Finally, ‘Returning Home’ closes out the epic and the album with a shifting instrumental…fast and powerful to start, ambient and spacey to close out. The shift is smooth and effortless, and the final fade, with a pulsing synth and cello unison, is lovely and so very, very prog.

We’re reaching the end of the review, and this is the point where I try to wrap things up in a few pithy, piquant lines that (hopefully) either inspire you to go out and buy the album, or warn you to stay away like it has the plague (really though, that doesn’t happen all that often).  This time, I think we also need to answer the question of whether Hybrid Child lives up to the hype. 

Does it?

I think, for the most part, that it does.  It’s contemporary yet has an eye looking to the past just enough to allow the material to resonate with listeners who really enjoy the older symphonic style.  It is as heavy as it is lush, and the frequent presence of cello is a nice touch indeed.  I think people used to a more classical vocal delivery may find Leslie Hunt’s vocals an unusual taste at first, but it’s one that can be acquired very easily.  And hell, you have to give her credit…she was on American Idol, and could have tried for a pop career, and said ‘I want to sing this!  I need to be in this band!’  This isn’t a ploy to try and sell records, not some cheap trick.  This is the real deal, and it shows on every song. 

I think District 97 is a band that can have a long future ahead of them.  And I think this is an album that merits a purchase and repeated listens, whether you dig the heavier side of prog or not.  Hopefully they’ll be around for a while…I’d like to hear what they come up with next.



Track Listing
Don’t Wanna Wait Another Day
Can’t Take You With Me
The Man Who Knows Your Name
Termites

Mindscan:
I. Arrival
II. Entrance
III. Realization
IV. Welcome
V. Examination
VI. Hybrid Child
VII. Exploration
VIII. What Do They Want
IX. When I Awake
X. Returning Home


Musicians:
Leslie Hunt: vocals
Katinka Kleijn: cello
Rob Clearfield: keyboards, baritone guitar
Jim Tashjian: guitars
Patrick Mulchay: bass guitar
Jonathan Schang: drums, percussion


Find out more:
http://www.district97.net
http://www.myspace.com/district97
http://www.district97.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/District-97/250928325595?ref=ts

Magma Monday 13

Welcome to Just Another Magma Monday.  Once a week, your obd’t narrator and occasional blogger will trawl the expanses of his Magma collection to discuss something of Zeuhl-ish importance.  Whether it’s the studio albums, the best of the AKT archive releases, one of the sundry live DVDs, or a choice artifact from his ‘unofficial’ collection, one thing is for sure…for this writer, Magma iss de hundin!

This week, sit back and relax as we take a look at BBC 1974 Londres, part of the Akt series of archival live albums (and catalogue number Akt XIII, an appropriate choice for Magma Monday 13!)…



The Akt series of releases have gone a long way toward filling in holes in Magma’s catalogue, offering us snapshots of the band at varying points of their evolution.  At the very least they’ve been interesting looks at the band as it has grown and changed; at their best, they offer stunning insight into how their music has developed, grown and become even more keenly honed.  While it’s hard to pick any one Akt release over another in terms of saying ‘if you could only buy one, this is the one to buy,’ in the end for me perhaps the choice is simple…BBC 1974 Londres.

There are a number of reasons for this.

Firstly, this was a session recorded for BBC radio.  As a result, sound quality is absolutely stellar.  If you’ve ever had a chance, for example, to hear the BBC session from other prog bands of similar vintage, you know how incredibly well they were recorded.  This Magma release is no different.  It sounds if it were recorded yesterday, almost...crisp highs, labyrinthine lows, huge presence.  It is one of the best sounding Magma live albums in their catalogue.

Secondly, this recording shows a transitional band.  Stripped back into a sextet, there are no female vocals, with only Christian Vander and Klaus Blasquiz handling the vocal reins.  As a result, there tends to be far more focus on the music versus the vocals.  That’s not to say that this is Magma in instrumental format; however, if you’re not necessarily a fan of the Kobaian vocals and chanting delivery, this may be a good place to look, as there’s significantly less of it.  Jannick Top also takes part in these sessions, meaning that the bass work here is at its deepest and darkest best.  Top is an absolute beast on bass guitar, bringing a classical flair to the material, and while other bassists have more than adequately filled his shoes over the years, I think when most people think Magma bassist, they think Jannick Top.  Add in a pair of keyboardists (Michel Graillier and Gérard Bikialo, both contributing Rhodes electric piano) and a guitarist (Claude Olmos), and you’ve got a tight band that was ready to blow the doors off the BBC recording studio.

We open up with a fantastic rendition of Theusz Hamtaahk, the opening movement of the band’s first trilogy.  Keep in mind that this is a composition that has never seen a studio rendition…all versions we have at our disposal are live.  While others may be longer, none are quite like the version on BBC 1974 Londres.  Slower, less sprightly, this is a version that wrings as much primordial darkness out of the piece as possible, entirely fitting for a song whose title translates from Kobaian as ‘Time of Hatred.’  Quiet almost whispered vocals and gentle Rhodes set the plate for an almost impossibly slow bass part from Top, while Olmos adds glistening guitar chords over top.  Vocals are less chanted than they are intoned…one gets the feeling of an almost religious, sacred telling here.  After listening to so many different versions over the years, I find myself coming back to this, the (chronologically) first recording of this composition, as my favourite.  There are more moments in this recording that get me pointing to my speakers and smiling than in some band’s entire catalogue of releases…and did I mention that this song hasn’t ever been released in a studio recorded version?

The album closes with a 27-minute working of Köhntarkösz.  Not yet released when this session was recorded, this is an intense rendition of the piece that would form the core of Magma’s 1974 studio album.  Tight enough to bounce a coin off of, it’s an amazing showcase for Vander’s drumming, along with some wonderful and all too brief guitar contributions from Claude Olmos.  Top is of course all over this song, providing a heartbeat like pulse, or adding in long swelling slid notes that rise from the primordial murk before descending again.  All the framework for this song is in place, but individual instrumental parts differ from the final studio recordings.  There’s an awesome organ solo about 18 minutes in that sounds so much like 1971 Pink Floyd that it’s frightening.  It amazes, when one thinks about it…between 1973 ad 1974, Christian Vander and crew would write or release Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh, Theusz Hamtaahk, Kohntarkosz, Wurdah Itah, and much of the material that would make up Kohntarkosz Anteria.  I can’t imagine any band doing that today…though I suppose it would be possible.  It just seems like such a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

60 minutes, 2 songs.  It amazes me to this day that bands like Magma got the chance to record hour long session s for the BBC…can you even imagine the same thing happening today?  There actually was a time when major media outlets were willing to take a chance on something outside and artistic because it was outside and artistic.  Thankfully the tapes survived, because this is one of the most amazing sounding examples of a band at their early peak, playing as if their lives depended on getting every note out there as powerfully as possible. 

If you can purchase only one release from the Akt series of archival Magma performances…oh, you know the rest.  This is the one to get.  It really is.



Track Listing:
1 – Theusz Hamtaahk
2 – Kohntarkosz


Musicians:
Klaus Blasquiz: vocals, percussions
Claude Olmos: guitar
Michel Graillier: Fender piano, keyboards
Gérard Bikialo: Fender piano
Jannick Top: bass
Christian Vander: drums, vocals

CD REVIEW: Goldbug - The Seven Dreams (2010, 1K Recordings)

The avant and improv music scene has a lot of great music coming out from it these days.  It is as vital and alive as ever.

One of my favourite new releases to come out of this style of music is The Seven Dreams, a new almost-EP length album by Goldbug, a collaborative project of Tim Motzer, chief cook and bottle washer for 1k records and a fairly prolific musician in his own right.  Goldbug is not a solo project, and Tim is not the lone musician heard here…he’s put together a pretty formidable group with which to realise these edgy, angular, cut up compositions.  While Motzer handles guitar, piano, keys and does some cool programming bits on laptop, Barry Meehan helps to hold down the bottom end with some occasionally funky and always fat bass licks.  He’s joined in the rhythm section by percussive wunderkind Eric Slick, whose resume barely needs mentioning…but of course you know this means I’ll be doing it anyway.  Slick’s worked with Adrian Belew, Project/Object, Paper Cat, Doctor Dog, and so on.  His chops are beyond compare…his use of restraint when needed almost more so. 

Finally, this quartet is rounded out by the world’s busiest rock and roll horn player, Theo Travis.  I don’t know when he sleeps, or if he even sleeps.  Between Gong, Soft Machine Legacy, Robert Fripp, the Tangent, his solo recordings, albums like this, sessions with Porcupine Tree, and so on, I think he’s decided to take a run at Tony Levin for most active progressive musician…and he’s doing a good job of it.

The Seven Dreams opens with a 1-minute long ambient piece called “Shadow Memory.”  It does a fine job of setting the scene, but it is really not a stand alone piece at all…usually I consider it a sort of prologue or prelude for the piece that follows.  Echoed cymbals and piano, weird guitar sounds, and so on lead in to “The Departure,’ a funky bass driven 3:44 rocker that focuses as much on Slick’s drumming and Meehan’s deep bass groves as it does on Motzer’s spacy guitar workouts.  Notes rise and fade, chords fly in at weird angles, and everything it tighter than…well…tighter than one of Eric Slick’s drumheads.  Fuzzed, sustained guitar notes remind of Robert Fripp, but this is no Crimson rehash whatsoever.

Things move along with “Unravelling,” a slightly less substantial piece in terms of length.  Just over 2 minutes long, this composition is far more keyboard driven, eerie and dark with warped bits of guitar adding a more surreal feel to things.  There’s structure here, but the piece feels heavily improvised.  Where “The Departure” had the feel of a rock song, this is space and improv territory fully.  It crossfades into “Scratching the Third Eye,” our first fully substantial and extended piece.  Clocking in at over 11 minutes in length, this is out first opportunity to feel and hear the band stretching out fully.  It starts slow, with loopy bass parts and slide guitar over a skittering, chopped up rhythm.  The piece gradually builds to more structured parts, with Barrett-esque glissando style guitar and bluesy slide over a skittering drum beat and thick bass.  One gets the feel of 1970 Pink Floyd in concert, exploring the sound field while thousands in the audience looked and listened on.  Impressive stuff, really.

We shift back to shorter forms for “Elevation,” a 4-minute long piece that carries on from “Third Eye.”  We hear some of the same bass grooves, scratching guitar singing a shattered, broken, wordless tune over top.  Travis’s sax is a lone voice of sanity in the midst of this musical maelstrom, barely heard, crying out from masses of synth and noise and processed sound.  It’s a cool juxtaposition, and it really helps to make the song.  The album moves on to the second extended composition, the 11 and a half minute “The Past is Still Present.”  This is, to my ears, a little better balanced a piece when compared to the other 11-minute track contained on this disc, but the differences are slight.  We get more sax, more space, more openness…yet all the common elements we’ve heard on this release thus far.  Meehan’s bass playing is as tight as ever, Slick’s percussive accents add more world flavour to things than straight kit playing would provide, and Motzer’s guitar and keyboard parts add the right amount of otherworldly zest to the track.  For something that most people would say is structureless and without melody, I hear plenty of both, and find this to be a fantastically compelling, yet chill, bit of music to listen to.

Goldbug’s debut release closes out with a shorter composition, the 5:16 “Persistence of a Memory.”  More ambient and soundscape-like, at least in the opening moments, Meehan’s bass adds warmth to the textures that Motzer creates.  Slick’s drumming is primarily on lower tuned instruments, mixed back, adding a slight pulse to things at first.  The track builds and grows slowly, drums rising in the mix organically, adding more structure and shape to the waves of guitar loop and synth swirl carrying the melodies.  The uplifting bit at the 4 minute mark, with flute and brighter synth tones, closes out the album on a fairly positive note, considering the darker, more angular material that preceded it.

This is a short album by anyone’s reckoning…its 7 tracks clock in at under 40 minutes.  But there’s a lot of music happening in those 40 minutes, and things are never staid and static for long.  This is challenging material that rewards an attentive listener with some very interesting musical gifts.  Is this for everyone?  Far from it!  Hell, it’s not something that’s for me every day.  But if you enjoy a good dose of darker, edgier, improv-esque music…or really miss what Crimson was doing with live improv from 1995-1996 or so (and believe me, I do!)…I think you’ll find The Seven Dreams to be right up your alley.



Track Listing:
Shadow Memory 0:58
The Departure 3:44
Unraveling 2:22
Scratching the Third Eye 11:18
Elevation 4:00
The Past is Still Present 11:28
Persistence of a Memory 5:16


Musicians:
Tim Motzer: guitar, keys, piano, laptop
Barry Meehan: bass, piano, voice
Eric Slick: drums, percussion, voice
Theo Travis: tenor saxophone, flute


Find out more:
http://www.1krecordings.com/

CD REVIEW: Effloresce - Shades of Fate (2010, private release)

By this point, it should be no surprise that I enjoy the heavier end of the progressive music spectrum.  My extreme/prog metal day should have been proof positive of that for you, Constant Reader.  So it surprises me when I get messages from bands or labels telling me about their newest effort, but then saying things like ‘I don’t know if this fits for you’ or ‘this might be outside your field of interest.’  We’ve already gone over several times, I think, my premise that progressive music is “interesting music that does something different,” and I continue to stick to that.

Effloresce fits into this category.  They’re a fairly new progressive metal band out of Germany taking their musical cues, for my ears, as much from classic 80’s thrash (Metallica) as they do the Gothenburg school of melodic death metal (Opeth).  In other words, expect lots of changing riffs and tempo changes, sections slamming into each other with raw abandon, and healthy doses of keyboard over the jackhammer riffs.

Oh, and a female vocalist.

Who does death/black metal vocals.

But more about that soon.

Effloresce is a 5 piece founded less than a year ago.  Amazingly, they’ve already put out one self-released EP, the 30-minute long Shades of Fate, with a full-length in the works.  I think for most people, the vocals will be the first thing noticed.  Nicki (no last names listed in the liner notes, the band website, Facebook or Myspace) has a gorgeous high alto/low soprano voice, and when her voice is layered for harmonies, it’s even more impressive.  However, as mentioned above, Nicki tosses off a few deathy growls and screams as well throughout 2 of the album’s three tracks.  I will admit that, while I know there are some female vocalists in the extreme metal genre, it still comes as a bit of a surprise when I hear her unleash a demonic growled vocal.  Obviously because she’s female the vocals tend to run closer to a throaty black metal rasp than a deep guttural growl, but there’s a bit of force behind them.  Some people may be turned off; I find it very enjoyable.  Nicki also contributes some nice flute bits throughout, adding a bit of pastoral fantasy to the mix.

Nicki’s joined by a powerful rhythm section; Tobi (drums) and Rene (bass) really keep things pounding forward; Tobi’s got some great double kick chops, and his fills are interesting and never over-busy, while Renee really locks in tight with the drums.  I wish he was mixed higher, to be honest…I can feel him, but I wish I could hear him more.  Filling out things is Tim (guitar) and Dave (guitar, mellotron).  Both of them are enjoyable guitarists…I’m not sure how solos and rhythm sections are split up, but the heavier rhythm work is always crunchy, the acoustic bits bright and jangling, and solos tasteful and spot on.  Additionally, the mellotron (and organ) contributions help to push this material to slightly more symphonic, classic prog territory.

Things kick off on a heavy, and almost bluesy note, with ‘Birds of Prey.’  Oddly, the opening riff starts out with a slide motif that almost drags things kicking and screaming to the delta before a more pounding, traditional metal riff with tron backing that really sets things in gear.  The heavy kick drum driving the third separate riff in about 1 minute is impressive, and the rapidly shifting riffs seem so Metallica influenced that it’s hard to think otherwise.  Lest you think this is a criticism…I’m probably one of the few people out there for whom Metallica isn’t a bad word these days.  Always loved them, still do.  Throughout this release I get the impression that the guys in the band decided that …And Justice for All wasn’t just a cool album, but a great idea for how to structure songs (and I bloody love that album, so I am all for that).  Great heavy playing, wonderful vocals, some awesome shifts in tone (there’s a fantastic lighter section in here that I love, with shades of Camel really making it shine)…this is a more than impressive opening track, and one that grabbed me by the (redacted so as to not offend) and refused to let go.  My only criticism is the use of pinch harmonics at the end of some of the lead lines…it’s become such a cliché, and it’s one I really wish would go away.

‘Sear’ follows next on this EP, and at 10 minutes isn’t even the longest track there (that honour is reserved for the preceding track, clocking in at 11:17).  I adore the growling, almost demonic organ note that leads this track off, with sustained and distorted to the brink of breaking up guitar notes that finally resolve into one amazingly tight riff.  There’s some fantasticly tight rhythm playing here, bonecrushing riffs and rhythms that alternate with quieter vocal sections, each seeming so much more so as a result of the ir close proximity to each other.  This track offers us our first taste of Nicki’s death/black metal vocals, and her quick switches between the rasped, screamed vocals and her clean voice is pretty awe inspiring.  I’m used to hearing Mikael Akerfeldt do it, and Nicki’s got impressive enough vocal chops to pull it off with some authority as well.  Frankly, I think I’d like to hear more of her extreme vocals…here’s hoping for the next release!

Our final track is the 8-minute long ‘Sunset in the Snowdome.’  I’ll admit that I did something I try never to do…I was so anxious waiting for this CD to arrive that I hit the band’s Facebook and played the streaming version of this track before the EP arrived.  So I was familiar with it before getting the final release.  The gorgeous flute and acoustic guitar opening, loads of stately organ, some fleetly played rhythm guitar (not ponderous and crushing…but still heavy!)…a lot of this track reminds of Damnation era Opeth, but with a much heavier touch throughout.  There’s more growled vocals here, and they add such a great touch to things. 

I should point out my aesthetic enjoyment of the package, too.  The front cover art is excellent, and in fact the entire package pulls together very nicely, with a unified design, limited use of colour and font, and an eye toward evoking a darker mood without going for cliché graphic elements.  The package looks brilliant, and the band should really be congratulated for putting effort in assembling a really professional looking, finished product that I’d put up against any major label album…and pick it over the major release.

Effloresce’s debut EP really shows a band that has a lot of promise.  There’s great playing, very good song writing, and a hell of a vocalist with some impressive chops.  I look forward to their full length album to come (even though I hear rumours the flute is going away!) and cant wait to see how additional time together has gelled this young band.


Track Listing:
Birds of Prey 11:17
Sear 9:57
Sunset in the Snowdome 8:26


Musicians:
Nicki: vocals, flute
Rene: bass
Tobi: drums
Tim: guitar
Dave: guitar, mellotron


Find out more:
http://www.effloresceonline.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Effloresce/338339790561?ref=ts
http://www.myspace.com/effloresceonline

CD REVIEW: Edensong - Echoes of Edensong (2010, private release)

Do you remember your first time?

Of course you do.

You know just what I’m talking about, too…you’ve waited so long for it…and it’s finally there, right in front of you.  You’ve made sure the moment is right…perhaps a nice glass of scotch or wine to set the mood.  You’ve made sure there’ll be no interruptions…you’ve even taken the phone off the hook, or turned the ringer off.  You’ve got the lights down low, and it’s time for you and that brand spanking new album from a new to you band you’ve been waiting for.

The first time never seems to live up to expectations.  Oh, but when it does…when it does, it’s like heaven and earth have just stopped, and it’s just you, and the music, and it’s magic.

I can probably count in the fingers of both hands the number of times that the first time has worked out that well.  The last time it happened had to be 199(mutters the rest), when I got a packet in the mail from Royal Oaks Michigan with my copy of discipline’s Unfolded Like Staircase.  I still remember the chills that album brought me.  But my point is, it doesn’t happen all that often, and when it does, I cherish it, because I know just how rare it is.

All this is build up for me saying (wait for it) that the same thing just happened for me.  What makes it all the more amazing is that it’s not a single album that did it, but a pair of releases from the same band.  The fact that both caused the same kind of reaction in me is something rare indeed…the fact that these two albums are their entire output thus far is gobsmackingly astonishing.

The band is Edensong.

And today I’ll be talking about Echoes of Edensong: From the Studio and Stage.

Now Edensong is a newer band, founded by James Byron Schoen (who contributes vocals, electric and acoustic guitars).  I’m assuming the band line-up that I’ve posted below is accurate for this release; hopefully James won’t kill me if I’m wrong.  Echoes is the band’s second release, following on from the equally amazing The Fruit Fallen (about which more in an article to come), and it acts as a sort of…well, I hate to use the term odds and sods release, but it is a half live, half studio effort that presents us a pair of new(ish) songs, a remastered track from the TFF sessions, and three live performances from 3RP, Progday and Terra Incognita festivals.  It’s a nice way to get a taste for the band in a live setting as well as to hear some material that is fresh and perhaps less familiar.

Echoes of Edensong opens with ‘Beneath the Tide.’  In the studio, this track is just a shade over 10 minutes long (it stretches in the live take included later to over 13), but it’s an odd thing, those 10 minutes.  I feel that they last far longer, and yet not that long at all.  This was the very first Edensong song I heard, and what a way to start off my listening.  I am a person who gets very involved in my music…I feel it keenly, and sometimes I can see it, smell it, almost taste it.  And from the very first quiet acoustic bits, through the final crescendo that drops to waves crashing on the beach, I am completely and wholly held in this song’s thrall.  I have goosebumps almost from the offing, and Schoen’s lyrics are, quite frankly, amazing.  His delivery is powerful, and while I’ll admit that my first listens found me somewhat less than enamoured with his voice, I’ve come to not only accept it but enjoy it.  He’s passionate in how he sings…his voice can be plaintive, fragile, or vitriolic and angry in equal measure, and it’s a huge part of why this song is so successful.  The arrangements are intense, with great changes between light and dark, heavy and soft.  There’s not a single out of place note.  The ending solos…harmony guitar at first, then a solo guitar, then violin, flute, keyboard, all in turn…build so powerfully.  I’m not playing the CD, but as I write this, the goosebumps are already coming back.

Yeah, it’s that good.

And better.

And I’ll put it bluntly…for me, this is THE song of 2010.  Full stop.

It’d almost be impossible to match the intensity of ‘Beneath the Tide,’ and Edensong wisely goes a different direction with ‘Lorelai.’  No, this is not a cover of the old Styx tune; it is, in fact, a piece the band contributed to the Haiti Projekt benefit CD release following the tragic Haitian earthquakes.  Gentle, pastoral, filled with carefully constructed layers of acoustic guitar and keyboards, this piece has a mystical feel that is unlike its predecessor on the album.  Again Schoen’s lyrics shine, and the tale the song tells is engrossing and involving.  I greatly enjoy this one…it may not offer the sheer intensity of ‘Beneath the Tide,’ but it makes up for that in mood and pure emotion.

The studio ‘side’ of this release is closed out with a remastered version of ‘To See but Not Believe,’ a track ‘hidden’ on the band’s 2008 debut album, cunningly added to that album’s closing track ‘The Reunion’ (so no, that song is not nearly 22 minutes long, much to my initial chagrin).  I haven’t A/B tested these versions to each other, but this release’s take on the track seems a bit punchier, a bit more open and breathy in some areas, and in general just a bit clearer and more precise.  It’s nice to have it as an individual track finally!

‘Side 2’ of this album opens with ‘The Reunion,’ of all tracks (so yes, we’ve got those two inverted here).  This performance was taken from the band’s concert at Progday in 2009.  This is a nicely handled rendition of this track from The Fruit Fallen, cello and harmony vocals mixing nicely with the acoustic guitars.  I feel it perhaps lacks a tiny bit of the intensity of the studio version, but in exchange we get a bit more rawness, a bit more organic passion.  ‘The Reunion,’ like much of Edensong’s material, reminds me so much of classic 1970’s progressive music, retuned for a new age.  It’s got all the hallmarks sound wise, but with plenty of modern influences that set this apart from being just another symphonic prog retread.  It’s a toss up between this and the studio take for me, honestly…I like both for totally different reasons.

We take a quick jaunt up the road (and back in time by about a month) to the 3 Rivers Prog Festival for a live take on ‘Beneath the Tide,’ our album’s opening track.  Where the studio take is a case study in balancing the contrasting elements of light and dark, this one is acid and vitriol almost from the start.  Intensity ramped up past 11, Shoen spitting lyrics out like a man possessed, flute and acoustic guitar not even coming close to muting the crunching guitar and organ.  If this were the first time I had heard this song (and had I been in the audience), I’m sure I’d have been struck dumb by it.  I can listen to it with a bit more detachment having the studio version to compare it to, but still…it’s pretty damned impressive that a band this young can craft something like this so early in their career.

We close out with a so-called bonus track, a final live song taken from Edensong’s performance at the Terra Incognita festival in Quebec from May of 2010.  Now, I have to come right out and say that ‘The Sixth Day’ is one of the most goosebump inducing songs on Edensong’s The Fruit Fallen album, for reasons I’ll hopefully be discussing with you very soon.  This live rendition does their studio effort proud, showcasing the wide dynamics and contrasts in tone and sound that seem to be hallmarks of this band’s music.  I think Schoen is a far more impressive vocalist live than his studio efforts have typically shown, and if he could tap into the energy and power that he shows on this song…wow.  Great performance of an already great song.

Do I sound like a fan boy?

Perhaps.

But bear this in mind…I’ve been listening to these albums a good bit now.  And despite the fact that I have 30 other albums to review, I am not yet ready to have these leave my CD player, be it at home or at work.  I’m hooked, well and truly.

Edensong is a band to watch over the coming years.  I think truly that they have what it takes to move on to even bigger things with each successive release, and Echoes of Edensong, as great as it is (and I think…no, I know…that this one will be on my year end top ten list), is still the voice of a young band discovering themselves.  It almost frightens me to think where they’re going from here.

Get this one.  Yesterday.


Track Listing:
1. Beneath The Tide 10:19
2. Lorelai 04:11
3. To See But Not Believe 08:42
4. The Reunion (Live in NC) 10:02
5. Beneath The Tide (Live in PA) 13:12
6. BONUS: The Sixth Day (Live in QC) 09:57


Band Mambers (current line-up):
James Byron Schoen - Guitars and voice
Stefan Paolini - Keyboards and voice
Tony Waldman - Drums and percussion
Matt Bauer - Drums and percussion
TD Towers - Bass
Michael Lunapiena - Cello
Barry Seroff – Flute


Find out more:
http://www.edensongtheband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/edensong
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/edensongtheband?ref=ts

CD REVIEW: Wilton Said - The View (2007, private release)

(NB: this review was initially published 8 February 2007)

Wilton Said (the band) AND Wilton Said (the musician) hail from Toronto Ontario. Said’s quirky mix of art rock influences (Queen, Bowie, Kate Bush battle with Sarah Slean and A Perfect Circle for prominence) is on full display on The View, his newest release.

Said holds a degree in Musical Composition from York University, and his contributions on vocals/piano/keyboards are joined by those of Andrew Buntain (bass), Richard Rizzo (drums) and Chris Reid (guitars). Sonically the band has forged a sound that focuses heavily on rock, with buzzing guitars, a punchy rhythm section, and Said’s dramatic, inflected vocals flitting in and out of the mix. The tracks on The View are pretty immediately accessible, but with enough quirk and twisted arrangement to move the band out of the mainstream. Art rock is quite possibly the best categorisation for their music, as it seems in many ways the logical extension of the direction bands such as Roxy Music or the Spiders From Mars took in the 1970’s.

“Carnival?” opens the album with found sound; children laughing in a sonic collage with calliope music and loops of undiscernable whispers and a strange vocal line. This shifts into “Heavy Motion,” which starts with a thick, rolling bass line and processed vocals. Wilton Said’s vocals are extremely flexible here, bending notes in a way that sounds extremely close to falling off the melodic line, before snapping back. The song itself goes through a number of changes, with heavy strummed guitar at 2:00 moving into a syncopated and brief bridge before a warped synth solo takes center stage.

“A Family Affair” opens like a restrained track, with dream like slide guitar and precious, fragile vocals, before said vocals are run through what sounds like ring modulation, moving the dream into nightmare territory. The song is an exercise in contrast, with alternating heavy sections adding tension to what is otherwise a pretty straightforward song.

Prog fans will likely go gaga over “The Empty Sky,” a 3-part mini-epic which closes out the album. The opening movement, “The View,” is a keyboard lover’s dream come true, with layers of organ, synth and piano battling over a pounding rhythm and thick rhythm guitar before the track shifts gears, bringing the speed down a notch while keeping the sonic richness as high as possible. An organ fanfare leads to clean, chorused, picked guitar reminiscent of 1980’s Alex Lifeson. “Goodbye,” the second movement, features laser beam sustained guitar lines, starting clean before adding fuzz and overdrive in ever drenching layers, over an orchestral synth foundation and militaristic drumming. The final section of this suite, “Fallen,” starts by picking up the pace with quick drumming and a propulsive organ line, before downshifting to a somber semi-dirge, with emotionally saturated guitar line and rich, mellotron-like synth textures. Said’s lyrics are sullen and somewhat distressing; a number of potential interpretations likely exist, all of which reek with finality. His vocal delivery on the three tracks that comprise this epic is the most dramatic and emotional on the album.

The View is an album packed with a variety of musical twists and turns. All the more amazing is that this is done in just over 34 minutes. In a modern musical environment where quantity is held as having far more importance than quality, it is a joy to listen to an album that hits hard and fast, with no throwaway tracks. The View is just that sort of album, and positions Wilton Said (the band) AND Wilton Said (the musician) as voices to keep an eye (and ear) open to.


Track List:
Carnival?
Heavy Motion
Merry-Go-Round
Pretty
Gender Bender
A Family Affair
The Empty Sky:
      i. The View
      ii. Goodbye
      iii. Fallen

Band Members:
Wilton Said: vocals/piano/keyboards
Andrew Buntain: bass
Richard Rizzo: drums
Chris Reid: guitars

Magma Monday 12

Welcome to Just Another Magma Monday.  Once a week, your obd’t narrator and occasional blogger will trawl the expanses of his Magma collection to discuss something of Zeuhl-ish importance.  Whether it’s the studio albums, the best of the AKT archive releases, one of the sundry live DVDs, or a choice artifact from his ‘unofficial’ collection, one thing is for sure…for this writer, Magma iss de hundin!

This week, sit back and relax as we take a look at Les Voix, a radically different interpretation of some of the classic Magma repertoire, recorded in 1992 in concert at the Jazz in the Bay Festival in Douarnenez, Brittany, France and released as the first volume in the band’s Akt series of archival releases…




“The music of Magma interpreted in acoustic performance by the band members of Offering - this was the idea behind Les Voix De Magma (The Voices of Magma), presented on the 2nd August 1992 at the Jazz in the Bay Festival at Douarnenez. Subtly re-arranged for 9 voices, double bass and keyboards, the themes underlying the Kobaian Universe here take on a new dimension. Full of power, captivating and lyrical, the absence of electricity takes nothing away from a repertoire which retains all its splendour. A fantastic success, but which at bottom is nothing amazing to those who understand that singing has always been the point of departure for Magma’s music.”

~~~~~From the Seventh Records page for this release


There are several things Magma fans know about Christian Vander…

1)       He loves jazz
2)       He loves acoustic music…keep in mind the heavy use of piano/Rhodes in Magma’s CV. (and yes, I know the Fender Rhodes is an electric instrument)
3)       He’s merged these two elements in the bands Offering and Welcome.

In 1992, Vander, ex-wife Stella, daughter Julie, a group of additional vocalists (including future Magma vocalist Isabelle Feuillebois) and Vander’s band Offering, came together for a show in Douarnenez under the name Les Voix De Magma (The Voices of Magma).  Recorded for this release, the material here recasts several Magma pieces in a far different light.

Gone is the heavy bass.  Gone are the interlocking Rhodes lines.  Present as always are the rich Magma vocals, augmented and built up in a nonet format.  Between this, the acoustic pianos, and much lighter drumming and percussion courtesy of Vander himself, the resultant recording feels like nothing less than a choral recital…something I am very familiar with considering my background in organised singing and classical choral work.  It’s actually a stunning reworking in a lot of ways…where Magma’s music can be bleak, oppressive, dark beyond belief, these vocal arrangements really take their cues from the translation of the word Zeuhl…’celestial.’  There is still heaviness here; that is something that I doubt can ever really change.  However, there is lightness, brightness…there are times that it sounds like choruses of angels singing from on high, and I mean that as the dearest compliment I can come up with.

We open up with an extract from Ëmëhntëht-Rê, at this point still pretty much incomplete, even though multiple sections of this piece had been released across several albums between the release of Üdü Wüdü, Attahk, and Live/Hhaï.  This short excerpt is essentially the opening few minutes of the suite, piano and acoustic bass setting a melodic motif under the mostly female vocals.  It builds slowly, as many of the best Magma compositions do, but this extract, bereft of the music that follows it in the suite, feels somewhat anticlimactic.  The piece that follows, ‘C'est Pour Nous,’ reminds me somewhat of both ‘Rinde’ (from Attahk) and portions of Kohntarkosz Anteria.  There are some wonderful piano parts on this piece, and Christian Vander offers up some fantastic male vocals that help to balance the more heavily female oriented chorus.  I’d be curious to see if the band/Vander might work up something more from this piece, or perhaps even simply come up with more of a band arrangement for it.  While I know that it seems Magma is far more busy with larger scale compositions these days, this is a piece that might well benefit from a fuller band arrangement as well.

Speaking of larger scale compositions…

Les Voix closes out with a pair of just that style piece.  The first is ‘Zëss,’ a piece initially released on the Akt album Bobino 1981.  At that time, it was an otherwise unreleased 30+ minute track in classic Magma style…slow, ominous building, subtle but unsettling conclusion.  While this acoustic/vocal arrangement is a good 13 minutes shorter (or more), it loses none of its ominous power.  In fact, the opening notes, long, deep bass tones sounding like the clarion call of something dark and oppressive heading toward the listener, are for me some of the heaviest, darkest moments in the entire Magma catalogue.  When vocals come in, about 1:30 into the piece, the resulting combination is incredibly impressive, reminding me of the opening of Ëmëhntëht-Rê or Köhntarkösz.  I’ll admit to not listening to the Bobino version very much (we’ll be discussing that album in the near future), but this is one I rate among Magma’s finest hours (OK, 17 to 30 minutes, is that better?).  While I know I would prefer to see the band craft something completely new for a future studio album, one kind of hopes that a proper full band studio recording of this composition can come to be before the end.

The final piece on Les Voix is an extract from Wurdah Ïtah.  Roughly 16 minutes of that 1972 album’s 39 minutes are performed here.  A simple but disarming piano line opens things up, vocals starting out light and very quiet, before huge piano chords break everything apart in the tensest way one might imagine.  There’s a wonderful balance between male and female vocals here, and when one considers the original album was recorded by a basic quartet (Christian Vander, Stella Vander, Klaus Blasquiz and Jannick Top), there was not much that necessarily needed to be done to translate this to this kind of format.  I like this version quite a bit, while fully admitting my preference for the original.  They are two different viewpoints on the same material, and while this was a successful translation, it simply does not touch me as deeply as the original (or other live, full band renditions) does.

The Les Voix style of performing Magma material is not limited to this one release; there have been other similar concerts in the past few years, and there is a live album from Japan (an official one) that pairs a 2005 live band performance of Kohntarkosz Anteria with a revamped Les Voix line up (Christian and Stella Vander, Isabelle Feuillebois, Antoine and Himiko Paganotti on vocals and Emmanuel Borghi on piano) for renditions of Theusz Hamtaahk, Wurdah Itah and M.D.K.  But this is the first, the original, and while perhaps not to everyone’s taste (and perhaps not even to the taste of some Magma fans), it provides an enlightening and interesting look at this material that is every bit as risky as the originals were.  I may not reach for this one every time I want some Magma, but it’s a more than worthy addition to my collection, one I’d certainly miss if it were not there.


Track Listing:
1 - Ëmëhntëht-Rê (announcement) 3:39
2 - C'est Pour Nous 7:55
3 - Zëss 17:18
4 - Wurdah Ïtah (extrait) 15:46
Total time: 44:38


Musicians:
Stella Vander: vocals
Addie Deat: vocals
Julie Vander: vocals
Bénédicte Ragu: vocals
Isabelle Feuillebois: vocals
Jean-Christophe Gamet: vocals
Alex Ferrand: vocals
Jean-François Deat: vocals
Pierre-Michel Sivadier: keyboards
Simon Goubert: piano, keyboards
Philippe Dardelle: bass
Christian Vander: vocals, piano, drums


Find out more:
http://www.seventhrecords.com/MAGMA/AKT1/cdlesvoixuk.html
http://www.seventhrecords.com/indexuk.html

CD RETRO REVIEW: Neal Morse - Sola Scriptura (2007, Metal Blade/Radiant Records)

(NB: this review was originally posted on 14 March 2007)

There are so many ways one can go about reviewing Neal Morse’s latest effort (Sola Scriptura, released on Metal Blade/Radiant Records), that it’s difficult to pick just one.

Conceptually, Sola Scriptura deals with the schism between Protestantism and the Catholic Church in the 15th Century, specifically looking at the efforts of German reformer Martin Luther to shift the church’s focus from political power, corruption and the gathering of monies through such things as indulgences (fees paid to be absolved from sin or to get into Heaven) back toward a more spiritual, Scripture-based arena (NB: Sola Scriptura, translated from the Latin, means “by Scripture alone”). It is an interesting concept, both historically and spiritually/liturgically, with a wide range of themes and ideas that could be worked into a conceptual album. Unfortunately, it is also a concept that perhaps demands more than the 76 minutes Neal has dedicated to this release (ironic, when one considers some of what will be following in this review).

Structurally speaking, Sola Scriptura is built around 3 extended epics, the shortest of which is a mere 16:34, and a shorter ballad. It is perhaps the heaviest of Neal’s post-Spocks Beard releases, with excellent contributions from a few of Neal’s most frequent guests. Mike Portnoy’s drumming is as solid as ever, showing restraint when necessary while rocking out as hard as ever when needed. Randy George, of Ajalon, shines once again on bass guitar, with a rich, beefy bass tone that cuts through the mix without bludgeoning the rest of the band. A new addition to the guest roster is “guitar god” Paul Gilbert, who adds solos on sections of the first two tracks, as well as flamenco guitar on “Two Down, One To Go” from “The Conflict.” The album is incredibly well produced, with lots of space for individual musical and vocal voices, which is impressive considering how densely orchestrated the material here is.

Sola Scriptura may well be Neal’s most controversial solo release. Placing one’s self in the shoes of an actual historical figure and trying to assign motivation and direction is a dangerous thing, and it is easy to slip from one narrative voice into a much more personal one. At times I feel just that has occurred, as lyrics seem to shift from a more historical background to allow more of Neal’s personal voice and message to shine through. Historically, much of the negativity that surrounded Martin Luther’s being has been excised from the tale told here; as well as being one of the strongest proponents of Reformation and Protestantism, Luther was well-known for some strong anti-Semitic views and beliefs. None of this is present in this album. Perhaps it is unnecessary to further the story presented by Morse (and Morse has stated that these anti-Semitic views were enough to have him reconsider releasing the album), but it is an important enough part of Luther’s historical personage to merit note.

Musically the performances contained on Sola Scriptura are among the gathered musicians’ best. Neal has likely never sounded this good vocally, and there are many sections of layered vocal harmonies that bring to mind Queen in terms of grandeur and richness. However, from a songwriting standpoint...while this is Neal’s heaviest album to date, it simply feels like more of the same. The music is familiar; one need only take a few seconds’ listen to the opening track to realise that this is a Neal Morse album. Traditional keyboard sounds and textures, multi-part track arrangements, shifts in tone from heavy rock to Latin vibe...all of these and more have been in evidence dating all the way back to The Light in 1995. Long-time fans will embrace this, it is most likely; listening to Sola Scriptura is the aural equivalent of slipping into a comfortable, well-worn pair of shoes. For this listener, there simply isn’t enough risky or new beyond the heavier sound controversially historic subject matter to show that Morse is pushing his internal or external boundaries.

Several hundred words ago I mentioned that Morse’s selection of subject matter deserved more than the 76 minutes dedicated to it on this release, and inferred that saying such was ironic considering what was to follow. Here’s the irony; having stated that the subject matter deserves more time to develop, the epic songs themselves need more judicious use of an editor’s knife. We all know Neal can write 25 minute epics the same way an ace pitcher can rack up strikeouts. On Sola Scriptura, it is easy to see where sections have been pasted together to keep a song growing in length. “The Door,” for example, features extensive quoting of previous musical passages in a manner that does not create tension through repetition. The end result is padding that could have been carefully excised, leaving a leaner but perhaps more powerful track.

Sola Scriptura is in many ways an album that defies review. Long time Neal Morse fans will buy it, digest it, and proclaim it to be his best, heaviest album yet. Others may listen to it, compare it to Spocks Beard’s latest album, and wonder why Neal can’t just go back and write with his old band. This reviewer listens to it and wonders if maybe Spocks is being far more progressive in changing their style so radically while Neal’s material, while perhaps more traditionally symphonic, has become locked in one stylistic mode.


Track Listing:
1. "The Door" - 29:14
        1. Introduction
        2. In The Name Of God
        3. All I Ask For
        4. Mercy for Sale
        5. Keep Silent
        6. Upon the Door
2. "The Conflict" - 25:00
        1. Do You Know My Name?
        2. Party to the Lie
        3. Underground
        4. Two Down, One to Go
        5. The Vineyard
        6. Already Home
3. "Heaven in My Heart" - 5:11
4. "The Conclusion" - 16:34
        1. Randy's Jam
        2. Long Night's Journey
        3. Re-Introduction
        4. Come Out of Her
        5. Clothed With the Sun
        6. In Closing...


Band:
Neal Morse: vocals, keyboards, guitar
Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater): drums/percussion
Randy George (Ajalon): bass guitar
Paul Gilbert (Racer X and Mr. Big): guitar (1, 2)