Progressive Rock Review: Art in America - Cloudborn

Release Date: August 1, 2019

Label: Art in America

Website

Like a book, music can catapult you into an imaginative adventure. Art in America most definitely built their latest LP, Cloudborn around the concept of an alternate universe where all your troubles just disappear and the listener cannot wait for what may lie ahead.

The theme of experimental simplicity is fitting for this band as the band members started, as they state on their site, “in their living room kicking around some musical ideas with guitar, bass and some unusual instrumentation - … and a Japanese Koto.” Band members and siblings, Chris Flynn – lead vocals and guitar, Shisonee Flynn – harp, koto, tamboura, and vocals; and Dan Flynn – on drums and percussion, began the venture of artistry and bringing together the framework of a band. Soon, after adding Jim Kuha – on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Garry Galloway on the keys; the band was finalized and two albums later, Art in America is on the rise to become a part of every Progressive Rock N’ Roll lover’s collection and earworm.

“A Tale of the Unexpected” sounds like that of a videogame cut scene. It offers the listener a way to both, relax and get introduced to a realm of unusual instruments that typically is not included within Progressive Rock album concepts. The harp, an Indian piece called a tambura, and a Japanese koto are fused throughout the track list.

Much of the rest of the album gives off a blend of 80’s and 90’s Progressive Rock/Pop vibe. As soon as I heard the first few lines of “I Am I,” I felt like I was inside a Classic Progressive Rock or Action movie soundtrack music video. “Someday” hits right in the heart of any listener with half a sense of aspiration and hope. It proclaims that one day soon he (the singer), will get to where he needs to be.

Just take a look at this particular album art. It is of a vast and new unexplored world that leaves an imprint of a powerful image on the listener’s mind. “Drool,” on the other hand, gives the feel of a traveler that is in search of something but; no one quite knows what. The singer may just be wandering down an endless road. Rounding out the first half of the track list, “The New Swami” is one of those songs that you just cannot exactly place your finger on how to react. It contains elements of the tambura giving the tune some peacefulness. It is sung so brightly but, if you listen to some of the lyrics: “The new Swami smiles, as rubies turn to rubble;” the Swami is not as peaceful as proclaimed.

“Someone Called My Name,” is all about looking for answers. It’s a journey where all but, the voice he keeps hearing over and over again remains a constant in his life. We never do learn if he discovers who or what he has been searching for. Art in America goes back to a wild-western-type of a theme on “For Shelly.” It sings of coming to a realization of whom he had however, now she’s gone out of his life Trying to find any remnants of back to when he and his friend or lover back to simpler times, the singer is in a daydream-like state and the rhythm remains constant to maintain that feel of flashbacks. It’s a very mellow peace to bridge the album together, it almost becomes instrumental.

Going from an almost monotone beginning to an action-packed four minutes and twenty-one seconds, “Facelift” is a fun changeup from the rest of the record. It feels like the singer or the listener could be charging up to something blending with a somewhat mystical sound towards the end. It becomes one of the standout tracks on the album for the simple reason that it brings some life and rejuvenation back into the record; like a reawakening of sorts.

The last three tracks create their own personalities. “Don’t Look Down” keeps with the upbeat sequence of the prior track. It’s guitar solo, is on the shorter side but, still offers what every Progressive Rock lover desires, a pure shred of the strings through your speakers. “No Wonder” finds its way on this record perfectly as its unique sound, almost like a movie scene, or story time sequence. The lyrics do not reflect much in terms of positivity because the man in question has made some mistake that he cannot seem to identify but, she knows quite well what he did. It’s the typical couples’ flare-up of arguments, disagreements, and sometimes breakup. Finally, taking a look at the last track “Goodbye My Love / Mind’s Eye / Peace of Mind,” it is truly an ideal finale to a perfect Progressive Rock album. It begins slow and swing-like, then, by the time it gets to “Mind’s Eye,” it blossoms into an up-tempo grand finish to make the listener feel as though they are leaving the concert of their life.

Cloudborn is that album that defines experimental. It pushes all types of Progressive Rock boundaries and draws the ear of various listeners. If you are looking for a record that makes you daydream, that makes you feel good overall, and that can turn any day around; this is the album for you. Often, Progressive Rock is misconstrued as angry – when commonly dealing with Metal, or disturbed when playing a bunch of Alternative artists; there’s a third avenue of eclectic and experimental sound that can accompany a typically positive intonation.

Key tracks include: “A Tale of the Unexpected,” “The New Swami,” and “No Wonder.”

Gregg Keniston- MuzikMan.net Staff

February 15, 2020

Reviews Provided By:

The Final on Vinyl

MuzikMan Productions

MuzikMan Reviews

Write A Music Review

Prog Progressive Rock Music Talk

New Age Music Reviews

Rate The Tracks

Track Listing: 
01. A Tale of the Unexpected
02. I Am I
03. Someday
04. Drool
05. The New Swami
06. Someone Called My Name
07. For Shelly
08. When We Were Young
09. Facelift
10. Don't Look Down
11. No Wonder
12. Goodbye My Love / Mind’s Eye / Peace of Mind

Progressive Rock Review: Art in America - Cloudborn

Release Date:August 1, 2019

Label: Art in America

Website

Like a book, music can catapult you into an imaginative adventure. Art in America most definitely built their latest LP, Cloudborn around the concept of an alternate universe where all your troubles just disappear and the listener cannot wait for what may lie ahead.

The theme of experimental simplicity is fitting for this band as the band members started, as they state on their site, “in their living room kicking around some musical ideas with guitar, bass and some unusual instrumentation - … and a Japanese Koto.” Band members and siblings, Chris Flynn – lead vocals and guitar, Shisonee Flynn – harp, koto, tamboura, and vocals; and Dan Flynn – on drums and percussion, began the venture of artistry and bringing together the framework of a band. Soon, after adding Jim Kuha – on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Garry Galloway on the keys; the band was finalized and two albums later, Art in America is on the rise to become a part of every Progressive Rock N’ Roll lover’s collection and earworm.

“A Tale of the Unexpected” sounds like that of a videogame cut scene. It offers the listener a way to both, relax and get introduced to a realm of unusual instruments that typically is not included within Progressive Rock album concepts. The harp, an Indian piece called a tambura, and a Japanese koto are fused throughout the track list.

Much of the rest of the album gives off a blend of 80’s and 90’s Progressive Rock/Pop vibe. As soon as I heard the first few lines of “I Am I,” I felt like I was inside a Classic Progressive Rock or Action movie soundtrack music video. “Someday” hits right in the heart of any listener with half a sense of aspiration and hope. It proclaims that one day soon he (the singer), will get to where he needs to be.

Just take a look at this particular album art. It is of a vast and new unexplored world that leaves an imprint of a powerful image on the listener’s mind. “Drool,” on the other hand, gives the feel of a traveler that is in search of something but; no one quite knows what. The singer may just be wandering down an endless road. Rounding out the first half of the track list, “The New Swami” is one of those songs that you just cannot exactly place your finger on how to react. It contains elements of the tambura giving the tune some peacefulness. It is sung so brightly but, if you listen to some of the lyrics: “The new Swami smiles, as rubies turn to rubble;” the Swami is not as peaceful as proclaimed.

“Someone Called My Name,” is all about looking for answers. It’s a journey where all but, the voice he keeps hearing over and over again remains a constant in his life. We never do learn if he discovers who or what he has been searching for. Art in America goes back to a wild-western-type of a theme on “For Shelly.” It sings of coming to a realization of whom he had however, now she’s gone out of his life Trying to find any remnants of back to when he and his friend or lover back to simpler times, the singer is in a daydream-like state and the rhythm remains constant to maintain that feel of flashbacks. It’s a very mellow peace to bridge the album together, it almost becomes instrumental.

Going from an almost monotone beginning to an action-packed four minutes and twenty-one seconds, “Facelift” is a fun changeup from the rest of the record. It feels like the singer or the listener could be charging up to something blending with a somewhat mystical sound towards the end. It becomes one of the standout tracks on the album for the simple reason that it brings some life and rejuvenation back into the record; like a reawakening of sorts.

The last three tracks create their own personalities. “Don’t Look Down” keeps with the upbeat sequence of the prior track. It’s guitar solo, is on the shorter side but, still offers what every Progressive Rock lover desires, a pure shred of the strings through your speakers. “No Wonder” finds its way on this record perfectly as its unique sound, almost like a movie scene, or story time sequence. The lyrics do not reflect much in terms of positivity because the man in question has made some mistake that he cannot seem to identify but, she knows quite well what he did. It’s the typical couples’ flare-up of arguments, disagreements, and sometimes breakup. Finally, taking a look at the last track “Goodbye My Love / Mind’s Eye / Peace of Mind,” it is truly an ideal finale to a perfect Progressive Rock album. It begins slow and swing-like, then, by the time it gets to “Mind’s Eye,” it blossoms into an up-tempo grand finish to make the listener feel as though they are leaving the concert of their life.

Cloudborn is that album that defines experimental. It pushes all types of Progressive Rock boundaries and draws the ear of various listeners. If you are looking for a record that makes you daydream, that makes you feel good overall, and that can turn any day around; this is the album for you. Often, Progressive Rock is misconstrued as angry – when commonly dealing with Metal, or disturbed when playing a bunch of Alternative artists; there’s a third avenue of eclectic and experimental sound that can accompany a typically positive intonation.

Key tracks include: “A Tale of the Unexpected,” “The New Swami,” and “No Wonder.”

Gregg Keniston- MuzikMan.net Staff

February 15, 2020

Reviews Provided By:

The Final on Vinyl

MuzikMan Productions

MuzikMan Reviews

Write A Music Review

Prog Progressive Rock Music Talk

New Age Music Reviews

Rate The Tracks

Track Listing: 
01. A Tale of the Unexpected
02. I Am I
03. Someday
04. Drool
05. The New Swami
06. Someone Called My Name
07. For Shelly
08. When We Were Young
09. Facelift
10. Don't Look Down
11. No Wonder
12. Goodbye My Love / Mind’s Eye / Peace of Mind

Progressive Rock Review: Dawn-Darker

Release Date:  15^th April 2014

Label:  Lasers Edge

Website

The album up for review is another of those that might have slipped through The Ancient One’s net, as I had not heard of the band before. The band in question hail from Switzerland and are called Dawn, which did have a little voice singing away in the depths of my mind “Knock Three Times etc”, but this is definitely NOT that same band. Dawn had their debut album, Loneliness, released back in 2007 and now comes album number 2, Darker. Dawn join a little group of excellent bands currently producing great music from Switzerland, such as Zenit, Diaphonic and Divus, and the music that Dawn provide would sit happily in the symphonic prog rock niche.

Dawn is a 4 piece band with the members involved in the new album, Darker, being Rene Desgoumois (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars), Nicolas Gerber (keyboards), Julian Vuataz (bass) and Manu Linder (drums). The influences cited by the members of Dawn reads like a “Who’s Who” of progressive rock and includes Pink Floyd, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Van Der Graaf Generator, Caravan, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Isuldur’s Bane and Gnidrilog, amongst many more.

Darker is a concept album which, as the magazine adverts associated with the release state is, “riddled with the vintage sound of the 70’s.” The album is an 8 track offering with a total playing time of around 68 minutes. The penultimate track, “Lost Anger,” is the shortest at 2:22 minutes and the longest track on the album is “8945” which moves the clock on to 19:02 minutes.

The opening track onDarker, is “Yesterday’s Sorrow” (2:25) which sets the ball rolling with “church organ style” keyboards and shimmering drums merging into a mellotron/keyboard passage which makes you feel that you have been transported back 40 years or so. This is an excellent starting point to the album, which is then taken up by “Cold” (9:43) which introduces us to the very characteristic vocals on the album. The most striking feature of this second track however is the stunning symphonic arrangements, interspersed with some heavy guitar riffs, and the music weaves from symphonic to almost space-rock style sparseness. The title track, “Darker” (10:57) follows and is a much heavier styled track with the “flying synth” sound suggesting early Hawkwind overtones, but it soon evolves into heavy riffing guitars and stronger, more powerful vocals. Sections of more subtle retro sounding keyboards sit perfectly with the heavier sections. Beautiful soundscapes are generated by the more sparse sections of the music, where the gentle bass and guitar merge into keyboard passages. The shorter and much more quirky “Lullabies for Gutterflies” (4:33) stirs memories of bands like Gentle Giant and Yes, with some repetitive keyboards and a very simple hook melody.

The epic track, “8945” (19:02) would best be described as a moody, atmospheric tour-de-force, which is a slow builder for the first three minutes and then heralds in a superbly played guitar passage  which carries the track onto a full band workout. Stunning keyboards around the 6:30 minute point allows the track to start building again with some old radio commentary being heard. This certainly gives a little nod of the head to the sounds of Pink Floyd and King Crimson styled “noodlings” which around the 10:30 minute mark move the track into a much looser sequence of very atmospheric material which just about ends before it becomes “too much” and moves into Deep Purple keyboard territory, more mellotron and more radio commentary. The track moves into an extended repeated passage which slowly builds to end the track.

Track 5, “Out Of Control” (7:44), starts out like a straightforward hard rocker, but settles into a superb track with weaving guitar and keyboards, interspersed with a much more confident sounding set of vocals. Around the 5 minute mark, the sound drops away totally to be picked up by a subdued guitar and swirling mellotron and the return of the vocals. The track ends with the sound dropping down again leaving a very plaintive vocal. “Lost Anger” (2:23) is almost like a little band workout with keyboards and mellotron, very rhythmic bass and drums and a buildup into a symphonic section which then drifts away to the end.

The final track on Darker, “Endless” (10:43) is filled with the sound of Hammond organ passages interspersed with guitars and encompassing some excellent melodic arrangements. The ethereal, floating   keyboards that seem to be here and there in the mix are simply superb. 

On Darker, Dawn has successfully produced a stunning album which encompasses the retro sounds of 70’s progressive music but sounds fresh and up to date. The musicians show that they appreciate those early sounds and can shape them into a sound for the 21^st Century. This album should certainly grace the CD shelves of many prog fanatics so, it has the “One to Buy” sticker emblazoned across the front, and makes this listener eager to track down the debut album and also keep an eye, or should that be an ear, out for future material from the band.

4.5/5 Stars

 

Key Tracks: Cold, Darker, 8945

Tracks: 
Yesterday’s Sorrow
Cold
Darker
Lullabies for Gutterflies
8945
Out Of Control
Lost Anger
Endless
 

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog Rock Music Talk

Progressive Rock Review: Dawn-Darker

Release Date:  15^th April 2014

Label:  Lasers Edge

Website

The album up for review is another of those that might have slipped through The Ancient One’s net, as I had not heard of the band before. The band in question hail from Switzerland and are called Dawn, which did have a little voice singing away in the depths of my mind “Knock Three Times etc”, but this is definitely NOT that same band. Dawn had their debut album, Loneliness, released back in 2007 and now comes album number 2, Darker. Dawn join a little group of excellent bands currently producing great music from Switzerland, such as Zenit, Diaphonic and Divus, and the music that Dawn provide would sit happily in the symphonic prog rock niche.

Dawn is a 4 piece band with the members involved in the new album, Darker, being Rene Desgoumois (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars), Nicolas Gerber (keyboards), Julian Vuataz (bass) and Manu Linder (drums). The influences cited by the members of Dawn reads like a “Who’s Who” of progressive rock and includes Pink Floyd, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Van Der Graaf Generator, Caravan, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Isuldur’s Bane and Gnidrilog, amongst many more.

Darker is a concept album which, as the magazine adverts associated with the release state is, “riddled with the vintage sound of the 70’s.” The album is an 8 track offering with a total playing time of around 68 minutes. The penultimate track, “Lost Anger,” is the shortest at 2:22 minutes and the longest track on the album is “8945” which moves the clock on to 19:02 minutes.

The opening track onDarker, is “Yesterday’s Sorrow” (2:25) which sets the ball rolling with “church organ style” keyboards and shimmering drums merging into a mellotron/keyboard passage which makes you feel that you have been transported back 40 years or so. This is an excellent starting point to the album, which is then taken up by “Cold” (9:43) which introduces us to the very characteristic vocals on the album. The most striking feature of this second track however is the stunning symphonic arrangements, interspersed with some heavy guitar riffs, and the music weaves from symphonic to almost space-rock style sparseness. The title track, “Darker” (10:57) follows and is a much heavier styled track with the “flying synth” sound suggesting early Hawkwind overtones, but it soon evolves into heavy riffing guitars and stronger, more powerful vocals. Sections of more subtle retro sounding keyboards sit perfectly with the heavier sections. Beautiful soundscapes are generated by the more sparse sections of the music, where the gentle bass and guitar merge into keyboard passages. The shorter and much more quirky “Lullabies for Gutterflies” (4:33) stirs memories of bands like Gentle Giant and Yes, with some repetitive keyboards and a very simple hook melody.

The epic track, “8945” (19:02) would best be described as a moody, atmospheric tour-de-force, which is a slow builder for the first three minutes and then heralds in a superbly played guitar passage  which carries the track onto a full band workout. Stunning keyboards around the 6:30 minute point allows the track to start building again with some old radio commentary being heard. This certainly gives a little nod of the head to the sounds of Pink Floyd and King Crimson styled “noodlings” which around the 10:30 minute mark move the track into a much looser sequence of very atmospheric material which just about ends before it becomes “too much” and moves into Deep Purple keyboard territory, more mellotron and more radio commentary. The track moves into an extended repeated passage which slowly builds to end the track.

Track 5, “Out Of Control” (7:44), starts out like a straightforward hard rocker, but settles into a superb track with weaving guitar and keyboards, interspersed with a much more confident sounding set of vocals. Around the 5 minute mark, the sound drops away totally to be picked up by a subdued guitar and swirling mellotron and the return of the vocals. The track ends with the sound dropping down again leaving a very plaintive vocal. “Lost Anger” (2:23) is almost like a little band workout with keyboards and mellotron, very rhythmic bass and drums and a buildup into a symphonic section which then drifts away to the end.

The final track on Darker, “Endless” (10:43) is filled with the sound of Hammond organ passages interspersed with guitars and encompassing some excellent melodic arrangements. The ethereal, floating   keyboards that seem to be here and there in the mix are simply superb. 

On Darker, Dawn has successfully produced a stunning album which encompasses the retro sounds of 70’s progressive music but sounds fresh and up to date. The musicians show that they appreciate those early sounds and can shape them into a sound for the 21^st Century. This album should certainly grace the CD shelves of many prog fanatics so, it has the “One to Buy” sticker emblazoned across the front, and makes this listener eager to track down the debut album and also keep an eye, or should that be an ear, out for future material from the band.

4.5/5 Stars

 

Key Tracks: Cold, Darker, 8945

Tracks: 
Yesterday’s Sorrow
Cold
Darker
Lullabies for Gutterflies
8945
Out Of Control
Lost Anger
Endless
 

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog Rock Music Talk

Progressive Rock Review: Gazpacho-Demon

Release Date: 1^stApril 2014

Label:    Kscope

Website

This was an interesting album to receive for review as I had been listening to it, and playing tracks on the radio show for a few weeks beforehand. Gazpacho, a progressive art rock band from Norway, has just released Demon, which is the 8th studio album to have been released since their debut album, Bravo, issued back in 2003. Regular readers of my review will have probably picked up on the fact that I am not comfortable with the constant need to squeeze a band into a particular labelled box, such as neo-prog (?) etc, but one critic described Gazpacho in a way that I find just a little bit over the top. The band were said to be “classical, post ambient, nocturnal, atmospheric, neo-progressive, folk, world rock, which should explain why I prefer to simply call it all, progressive rock.

Formed back in 1996 by childhood friends, Jon-Arne Vilbo (guitars, programming) and Thomas Anderson (keyboards, programming, producer), then Jan-Henrik Ohme (vocals), and later by Michael Kromer (violin, guitar, programming, co-producer), Kristian Torp (bass guitar) and Lars Erik Asp (drums, percussion), with the last three joining the band in 2001, 2005 and 2010 respectively.

The band initially released their material via the internet which allowed them to maintain full time jobs, but also release an album every year, over which they had complete control. With a growing fan base and an excellent output, Gazpacho signed to Kscope in 2010 and all subsequent releases appear on this label.

Demon is basically a 4 song album based on, what the band refer to as, “the mad ramblings left behind by an unknown tenant in an apartment in Prague.” The discovered manuscript seemed to form a sort of diary in which the author claimed to have discovered the source of an “evil presence” in the world. Some of the entries seem to indicate this unknown author had lived through the ages searching out this “presence.” The band felt that this seemed a terrific idea to use as the basis for a concept album, and ultimately it has taken two years to complete.

Although described as a 4 “song” album, there are, in effect 8 tracks, as some tracks have multiple parts. Demon has a total running time of around 45 minutes with the shortest track on offer, “The Wizard of Altai Mountain” clocking in at 4:52 minutes and the 3 parts of the final track, “Death Room,” the longest, with a playing time of 18:44 minutes.

Gazpacho is a band filled with musicians  that are masters of the art form referred to as “less is more,” in that they do not feel the need to overlay masses of instruments on tracks, nor do they try to play several hundred notes every second. The brilliance of this band is that at times they strip everything back to the bare minimum, but still provide a fantastic aural tapestry that the listener becomes inextricably woven into from start to finish.

The opening sequence, “I’ve Been Walking Pt 1 a+b” (9:46) is a superb example of stripped back, but deeply intense musicianship. The plaintive voice of Jan-Henrik together with a solitary piano starts this track, with “dark” strings building behind the voice. A short wall of sound accentuates that plaintive vocal before the track merges into acoustic guitar and strings, before dropping further into the stripped back mode, with the voice backed by gentle sounds. A slow building of sound behind carries the track into the second phase with a piano and a “descending” violin. A choir can be heard away in the distance over the superb solo piano passage before the guitar, bass and drums move things up a notch. Just after 8 minutes, the sound of the cello, together with a solo violin is all that can be heard, painting a scenario of loss and desolation (at least to me), and this takes the opening sequence out. An amazing piece of music to start this album, which makes the listener want desperately to hear what the rest of the album holds.

The shortest track, “The Wizard of Altai Mountain” (4:52) is more of an up-tempo styled track, but is still sparse in its composition, led along by that powerful emotive voice, before an accordion picks up behind the voice and then around the 2:30 minute mark, the song changes into a sort of accordion band, entertaining a crowd, with an amazing violin passage over the top of everything. Cue then the return of a more solemn accordion piece as it ends on an ambient note.

A return to “I’ve Been Walking Pt 2 a+b”, (12:30) is possibly more atmospheric than Pt 1. Voices, piano, muffled drums and bass carry the song along painting amazing aural landscapes as it moves almost serenely along until there is a little more urgency creeps in. Suddenly the music is replaced by an old “scratchy” vocal recording which moves into a piano passage and then a return to the full band sound, prior to the “normal” vocals reappearing. A short burst of the “scratchy” vocals merges into the superb violin/piano combination which leads into the second phase, and although very sparse, the atmosphere generated is almost electric. This is a stunning track which slowly gives way to the final track of the album.

The tour de force of this album must surely be “Death Room Pt 1, 2 and 3” (18:44), which starts very differently with some industrial noise and a repeated 3 note riff that is maintained in the background. Add in some “sawing” violin which weaves in and out, and the stunning atmospherics generated by this phase are almost beyond belief. Every so often there is the return of the superb piano behind the voice, almost like a “security blanket.” There is an almost choir-like soulful backing behind the voice at times. Bass rumblings move the track into its second phase and there follows an amazing violin passage together with strings which seems to flow and fit the track so well. The entry into the third phase of the track has another beautiful piano passage behind the voice and then a passage of piano with a guitar away in the distance. Bass rumbles herald the move to the finale and a return to the industrial noise that began the track, escorts it out.

 

This is the type of album that once it has finished you are required a moment or two to ponder over the enormity of its achievement. It is a truly stunning album that all Gazpacho fans are likely to go into raptures over, but new listeners to the band should give the album several plays, as it is very definitely a “grower.”

Demon is a very dark, atmospheric, engaging album that achieves all it set out to do. The band realize that aural soundscapes can be produced in what appears to be a very simplistic form, but this requires superb musicianship and a deep understanding of what they are trying to achieve. 

My advice is to listen to this album several times and then make a space for it on the CD shelf.Demon gets both the “One to Buy” and “The Experience will last Forever” stickers on the cover.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: The Wizard of Altai, Death Room Pt 1, 2 and 3

Tracks:I’ve Been Walking Pt 1 a
I’ve Been Walking Pt 1 b
The Wizard of Altai Mountain
I’ve Been Walking Pt 2 a
I’ve Been Walking Pt 2 b
Death Room Pt 1
Death Room Pt 2
Death Room Pt 3

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog Rock Music Talk

May 30, 2014

Review Provided By Write A Music Review

Progressive Rock Review: Gazpacho-Demon

Release Date: 1^stApril 2014

Label:    Kscope

Website

This was an interesting album to receive for review as I had been listening to it, and playing tracks on the radio show for a few weeks beforehand. Gazpacho, a progressive art rock band from Norway, has just released Demon, which is the 8th studio album to have been released since their debut album, Bravo, issued back in 2003. Regular readers of my review will have probably picked up on the fact that I am not comfortable with the constant need to squeeze a band into a particular labelled box, such as neo-prog (?) etc, but one critic described Gazpacho in a way that I find just a little bit over the top. The band were said to be “classical, post ambient, nocturnal, atmospheric, neo-progressive, folk, world rock, which should explain why I prefer to simply call it all, progressive rock.

Formed back in 1996 by childhood friends, Jon-Arne Vilbo (guitars, programming) and Thomas Anderson (keyboards, programming, producer), then Jan-Henrik Ohme (vocals), and later by Michael Kromer (violin, guitar, programming, co-producer), Kristian Torp (bass guitar) and Lars Erik Asp (drums, percussion), with the last three joining the band in 2001, 2005 and 2010 respectively.

The band initially released their material via the internet which allowed them to maintain full time jobs, but also release an album every year, over which they had complete control. With a growing fan base and an excellent output, Gazpacho signed to Kscope in 2010 and all subsequent releases appear on this label.

Demon is basically a 4 song album based on, what the band refer to as, “the mad ramblings left behind by an unknown tenant in an apartment in Prague.” The discovered manuscript seemed to form a sort of diary in which the author claimed to have discovered the source of an “evil presence” in the world. Some of the entries seem to indicate this unknown author had lived through the ages searching out this “presence.” The band felt that this seemed a terrific idea to use as the basis for a concept album, and ultimately it has taken two years to complete.

Although described as a 4 “song” album, there are, in effect 8 tracks, as some tracks have multiple parts. Demon has a total running time of around 45 minutes with the shortest track on offer, “The Wizard of Altai Mountain” clocking in at 4:52 minutes and the 3 parts of the final track, “Death Room,” the longest, with a playing time of 18:44 minutes.

Gazpacho is a band filled with musicians  that are masters of the art form referred to as “less is more,” in that they do not feel the need to overlay masses of instruments on tracks, nor do they try to play several hundred notes every second. The brilliance of this band is that at times they strip everything back to the bare minimum, but still provide a fantastic aural tapestry that the listener becomes inextricably woven into from start to finish.

The opening sequence, “I’ve Been Walking Pt 1 a+b” (9:46) is a superb example of stripped back, but deeply intense musicianship. The plaintive voice of Jan-Henrik together with a solitary piano starts this track, with “dark” strings building behind the voice. A short wall of sound accentuates that plaintive vocal before the track merges into acoustic guitar and strings, before dropping further into the stripped back mode, with the voice backed by gentle sounds. A slow building of sound behind carries the track into the second phase with a piano and a “descending” violin. A choir can be heard away in the distance over the superb solo piano passage before the guitar, bass and drums move things up a notch. Just after 8 minutes, the sound of the cello, together with a solo violin is all that can be heard, painting a scenario of loss and desolation (at least to me), and this takes the opening sequence out. An amazing piece of music to start this album, which makes the listener want desperately to hear what the rest of the album holds.

The shortest track, “The Wizard of Altai Mountain” (4:52) is more of an up-tempo styled track, but is still sparse in its composition, led along by that powerful emotive voice, before an accordion picks up behind the voice and then around the 2:30 minute mark, the song changes into a sort of accordion band, entertaining a crowd, with an amazing violin passage over the top of everything. Cue then the return of a more solemn accordion piece as it ends on an ambient note.

A return to “I’ve Been Walking Pt 2 a+b”, (12:30) is possibly more atmospheric than Pt 1. Voices, piano, muffled drums and bass carry the song along painting amazing aural landscapes as it moves almost serenely along until there is a little more urgency creeps in. Suddenly the music is replaced by an old “scratchy” vocal recording which moves into a piano passage and then a return to the full band sound, prior to the “normal” vocals reappearing. A short burst of the “scratchy” vocals merges into the superb violin/piano combination which leads into the second phase, and although very sparse, the atmosphere generated is almost electric. This is a stunning track which slowly gives way to the final track of the album.

The tour de force of this album must surely be “Death Room Pt 1, 2 and 3” (18:44), which starts very differently with some industrial noise and a repeated 3 note riff that is maintained in the background. Add in some “sawing” violin which weaves in and out, and the stunning atmospherics generated by this phase are almost beyond belief. Every so often there is the return of the superb piano behind the voice, almost like a “security blanket.” There is an almost choir-like soulful backing behind the voice at times. Bass rumblings move the track into its second phase and there follows an amazing violin passage together with strings which seems to flow and fit the track so well. The entry into the third phase of the track has another beautiful piano passage behind the voice and then a passage of piano with a guitar away in the distance. Bass rumbles herald the move to the finale and a return to the industrial noise that began the track, escorts it out.

 

This is the type of album that once it has finished you are required a moment or two to ponder over the enormity of its achievement. It is a truly stunning album that all Gazpacho fans are likely to go into raptures over, but new listeners to the band should give the album several plays, as it is very definitely a “grower.”

Demon is a very dark, atmospheric, engaging album that achieves all it set out to do. The band realize that aural soundscapes can be produced in what appears to be a very simplistic form, but this requires superb musicianship and a deep understanding of what they are trying to achieve. 

My advice is to listen to this album several times and then make a space for it on the CD shelf.Demon gets both the “One to Buy” and “The Experience will last Forever” stickers on the cover.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: The Wizard of Altai, Death Room Pt 1, 2 and 3

Tracks:I’ve Been Walking Pt 1 a
I’ve Been Walking Pt 1 b
The Wizard of Altai Mountain
I’ve Been Walking Pt 2 a
I’ve Been Walking Pt 2 b
Death Room Pt 1
Death Room Pt 2
Death Room Pt 3

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog Rock Music Talk

May 30, 2014

Review Provided By Write A Music Review

Progressive Rock Review: Panic Room-Incarnate

Release Date: 18^thMarch 2014

Label: Firefly Music

Website

Incarnate is the 4^th album from the Welsh Band, Panic Room, since their formation back in 2007. The band was formed by former members of the band Karnataka and released the debut album, Visionary Position in 2008, followed at regular intervals by Satellite (2010), Skin(2012) and now Incarnate (2014).

The best description of the music of Panic Room is probably under the umbrella of crossover prog or a female fronted progressively influenced band in the vein of Magenta and The Reasoning.

Panic Room is currently a 4 piece band, comprising Jonathan Edwards (keyboards), Gavin Griffiths (drums), Anne Marie Helder (vocals, flute, guitars, keyboards) and Yatim Halimi (bass), although for the recording of the album, Incarnate, Adam O’Sullivan was responsible for the lead guitar role.

Incarnate is a 10 track album, clocking in at around the 61 minute mark with the penultimate track, “Close The Door,” the shortest on offer at 5:10 minutes and track 6, “Into Temptation” being the longest, running on to just under 8 minutes (7:55).

The opening track, “Velocity” (5:17) has a memorable spiraling guitar riff by the “new boy” Adam, leading into Anne Marie’s remarkable vocals while being ably supported by the power unit of the band. The keyboards are in there as well, but remain a step back, neatly behind the voice. All in all, this is a terrific starter to the new album with an instantly accessible “hook” that quickly embeds in your mind.

The next few tracks, “Start The Sound” (5:12), “Incarnate” (7:37), “Nothing New” (6:17) and “Waterfall” (5:30) have a distinctly different sound with a more “stripped back” approach, giving a little nod in the direction of the more acoustic styled side project, Luna Rossa. They are much more keyboard/vocal led which also, because of the “space” available in the sound, allows the band members to take the spotlight from time to time. The vocals are at times, emotive, powerful and also, slightly brittle, fitting the tracks like a glove.

“Into Temptation” (7:55) is an amazingly atmospheric track with Adam getting in a few tasty runs early in the proceedings and Anne Marie employing “breathy” vocals initially. The track gently moves into the “slow burner” territory with some unobtrusive keyboards supplementing the voice. The drums and bass keep the track motoring along with a little subdued urgency and within this track there is a terrifically catchy chorus. Just prior to the 5 minute mark, there is a sublime passage, keyboard led, which is almost spine-chilling and Adam’s guitar then edges into the picture before Anne Marie resurfaces with another chorus. This would certainly be my choice of track for the “instant” track on the album, and it certainly seems to end long before its 7:55 minutes has passed.

A real jazzy track “All That We Are” (5:40) follows, and although musically it is faultless, I felt that it was just too much of a contrast, but things return to “normal” with “Searching” (5:52) and “Close The Door” (5:10), both very different tracks, but distinctly Panic Room.

The finale to the album Incarnate, “Dust” (7:15), is another very atmospheric chunk of music with a long slow introduction and those “breathy” vocals by Anne Marie. The overall feeling is of a dark, brooding piece of music that flows back and forth, constantly shifting with instruments taking the lead and then stepping back again. The repeated passages seem to echo in your mind even after the track has ceased. This is a very powerful track, constantly simmering but being kept strictly in check. “Dust” is a superb final track to a thoroughly enjoyable album.

Incarnate is a superbly constructed album with a variety of soundscapes generated by a tightly knit group of musicians with one aim in their sights and that is to produce music of the highest quality. Another 2014 release to get both stickers “One to Buy” and “The Experience will last Forever,” and I don’t think that there was any doubt of that from the very first play. The advice is to get out there, hunt down a copy, settle into a comfortable seat and listen to some simply stunning music.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Velocity, Incarnate, Into Temptation

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog Rock Music Talk

March 25, 2014

Tracks:
Velocity
Start The Sound
Incarnate
Nothing New
Waterfall
Into Temptation
All That We Are
Searching
Close The Door
Dust
 

Sell your beats online at ReverbNation.com

Progressive Rock Review: Panic Room-Incarnate

Release Date: 18^thMarch 2014

Label: Firefly Music

Website

Incarnate is the 4^th album from the Welsh Band, Panic Room, since their formation back in 2007. The band was formed by former members of the band Karnataka and released the debut album, Visionary Position in 2008, followed at regular intervals by Satellite (2010), Skin(2012) and now Incarnate (2014).

The best description of the music of Panic Room is probably under the umbrella of crossover prog or a female fronted progressively influenced band in the vein of Magenta and The Reasoning.

Panic Room is currently a 4 piece band, comprising Jonathan Edwards (keyboards), Gavin Griffiths (drums), Anne Marie Helder (vocals, flute, guitars, keyboards) and Yatim Halimi (bass), although for the recording of the album, Incarnate, Adam O’Sullivan was responsible for the lead guitar role.

Incarnate is a 10 track album, clocking in at around the 61 minute mark with the penultimate track, “Close The Door,” the shortest on offer at 5:10 minutes and track 6, “Into Temptation” being the longest, running on to just under 8 minutes (7:55).

The opening track, “Velocity” (5:17) has a memorable spiraling guitar riff by the “new boy” Adam, leading into Anne Marie’s remarkable vocals while being ably supported by the power unit of the band. The keyboards are in there as well, but remain a step back, neatly behind the voice. All in all, this is a terrific starter to the new album with an instantly accessible “hook” that quickly embeds in your mind.

The next few tracks, “Start The Sound” (5:12), “Incarnate” (7:37), “Nothing New” (6:17) and “Waterfall” (5:30) have a distinctly different sound with a more “stripped back” approach, giving a little nod in the direction of the more acoustic styled side project, Luna Rossa. They are much more keyboard/vocal led which also, because of the “space” available in the sound, allows the band members to take the spotlight from time to time. The vocals are at times, emotive, powerful and also, slightly brittle, fitting the tracks like a glove.

“Into Temptation” (7:55) is an amazingly atmospheric track with Adam getting in a few tasty runs early in the proceedings and Anne Marie employing “breathy” vocals initially. The track gently moves into the “slow burner” territory with some unobtrusive keyboards supplementing the voice. The drums and bass keep the track motoring along with a little subdued urgency and within this track there is a terrifically catchy chorus. Just prior to the 5 minute mark, there is a sublime passage, keyboard led, which is almost spine-chilling and Adam’s guitar then edges into the picture before Anne Marie resurfaces with another chorus. This would certainly be my choice of track for the “instant” track on the album, and it certainly seems to end long before its 7:55 minutes has passed.

A real jazzy track “All That We Are” (5:40) follows, and although musically it is faultless, I felt that it was just too much of a contrast, but things return to “normal” with “Searching” (5:52) and “Close The Door” (5:10), both very different tracks, but distinctly Panic Room.

The finale to the album Incarnate, “Dust” (7:15), is another very atmospheric chunk of music with a long slow introduction and those “breathy” vocals by Anne Marie. The overall feeling is of a dark, brooding piece of music that flows back and forth, constantly shifting with instruments taking the lead and then stepping back again. The repeated passages seem to echo in your mind even after the track has ceased. This is a very powerful track, constantly simmering but being kept strictly in check. “Dust” is a superb final track to a thoroughly enjoyable album.

Incarnate is a superbly constructed album with a variety of soundscapes generated by a tightly knit group of musicians with one aim in their sights and that is to produce music of the highest quality. Another 2014 release to get both stickers “One to Buy” and “The Experience will last Forever,” and I don’t think that there was any doubt of that from the very first play. The advice is to get out there, hunt down a copy, settle into a comfortable seat and listen to some simply stunning music.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Velocity, Incarnate, Into Temptation

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog Rock Music Talk

March 25, 2014

Tracks:
Velocity
Start The Sound
Incarnate
Nothing New
Waterfall
Into Temptation
All That We Are
Searching
Close The Door
Dust
 

Sell your beats online at ReverbNation.com

Progressive Rock Review: Forest Field-Pioneers Of The Future

Release Date:  1st June 2013
Label: Rock Company

Website

This album for review, Pioneers Of The Future, is the first full length album from the Dutch studio project, Forest Field. The project is led by Chinawhite stalwart, Peter Cox, who is responsible for guitars, keyboards, bass, programming and vocals. The rest of the “band” utilizes the voices of Phil Vincent, Joris Peeters, Aukje Peeters and Sue Straw as well as Sander Stappers (also from Chinawhite), who plays bass on some tracks. The music contained within the album, Pioneers Of The Future, can best be described as a combination of ambient, new age and progressive rock genres, spread across a collection of instrumentals and vocal tracks, making extensive use of instruments such as mellotrons, piano and organs, but with a suitable input and back up by the guitars, bass and drums.

There is a sort of theme running through the album, dealing with Time and the seven instrumental tracks all have titles containing the days of the week and the vocal tracks deal with the effects of time.

Pioneers Of The Future is a 13 track album with a running time of around 53 minutes, with track 5, one of the instrumentals, “Wonderful Wednesday” being the shortest track at 1:18 minutes and track 4, “Phoenix For The Sunrise” being the longest on offer at just over 7 minutes (7:18). The instrumental tracks are the odd numbered tracks with the vocal tracks, fitting between them.

The opening track, “2 Many Mondays” (3:16) has an interesting beginning, with sweeping synths and a simple melody plucked out on a guitar. Unfortunately, even at just over 3 minutes, I found that I was starting to drift from the music as the interest was waning. ”Tuesday I Think” (2:30), “Wonderful Wednesday” (1:18) and the other instrumentals, while initially catching the listener’s attention, are missing that factor to maintain the interest. There is some terrific guitar work going on in all of these tracks, but my overall impression was that they lacked a little in direction.

“Imaginary Queens” (6:19) starts with excellent drum, bass and keyboards before the guitar adds a terrific little passage. The vocals seem very low in the mix and this initially makes the track more interesting. Throughout the track there is some superb guitar work, but the vocals ultimately didn’t “do it” for me and I felt a little disappointed when the track meandered out, albeit with some more excellent guitar.

“Phoenix For The Sunrise” (7:08) has a similar feeling with the keyboards, drum and bass, but the guest vocalists didn’t add anything and sounded “flat” and lifeless. “Set Me Free” (5:44), “Time” (5:21) and “Places Never Seen” (6:20) are all good platforms for highlighting Peter’s guitar playing and are relatively more interesting.

“Looking For Someone” (5:35), I was really unsure about, and I think it is the least successful track on the album. The instrumentation on show is very good, but I felt that the vocals didn’t fit the track. This, of course, is a very personal opinion, but having listened to this album several times over a couple of weeks, this track has not endeared itself to me in any way.

This album, Pioneers Of The Future, I did find a little difficult to get “inside.” At times, there are those “ je ne sais quoi” moments and the music is superb, but then equally, there were moments when my attention would drift or the vocals would seem at odds with what else was happening.

As a debut album, I don’t think that Pioneers Of The Future is an album that is a “must buy” but I would like to see where Peter goes from this point, and I believe a follow-up album is being worked on. As always, my advice is to give the album a good few listens, after all, it might just be me that hasn’t managed to “get it.”

3.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Set Me Free, Time, Places Never Seen

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog Rock Music Talk

March 8, 2014


Tracks:
2 Many Mondays
Imaginary Queens
Tuesday I Think
Phoenix For The Sunrise
Wonderful Wednesday
Set Me Free
Thursday Thunder
Looking For Someone
Freaky Friday
Time
Lazy Saturday Swim
Places Never Seen
Serious Sunday