Wobbler – Rites at Dawn

They did it again!

Wobbler is still a young band, however they sound like they were on the musical scene for ages, because of the outstanding compositions they create, along with the high-quality performance of the musicians. Now in this past 2011 they released “Rites at Dawn” which is their third studio album so far, and a musical piece that challenges the big names of progressive rock. This album consists of seven compositions that make a total time of 45 minutes, divided in two short pieces, three mid-length ones and two epics.

The album opens with one of the short tracks. Almost two minutes in which “Lucid” shares a dreamy atmosphere. I imagine someone waking up, opening the eyes and see a new dawn. Later when everything is relaxed, a fast and busy day begins with “La Bealtaine”, where the already own Wobbler sound can be appreciated, with the great interaction between guitars and bass, accompanied by drums, voice and the prominent keyboards. Since this first longer song we can realize the complexity of their music, and the great musicianship of the members. I really love how they combine the instrumental passages with the vocal ones. Stunning!

“In Orbit” is one of the epics, with twelve minutes of first-class music. It starts with acoustic guitar, accompanied by a wonderful bassoon (congrats for adding this instrument) which produces a beautiful yet somber sound. A minute later we will listen to a drastic change in which all the musicians create complex, bombastic and vertiginous music that give as a result a very interesting passage. Another drastic change comes when the previous passage vanishes and a delicate vocal sound appears for some seconds, preparing the scene for guess what, another vertiginous change. The keyboard work is awesome during the whole track and album; the bass creates great melodies that do not sound ordinary or plain, following that complex spirit that Wobbler offers since their first album. There will be a moment in which Yes will come to your mind, I assume that classic band influenced them in a way, but it is worth clarifying that Wobbler is never a copycat band, never. Just listen to this wonderful and original song, so you will appreciate their own style.

“This Past Presence” has a mellow and pastoral sound at first. A laid back and peaceful sound where we can appreciate acoustic guitar, a delicate voice, flute and piano. But when you think the song will continue like this, it explodes all of a sudden creating that heavy symphonic tone they use to share. A series of mood and time changes will be found here, loyal at Wobbler’s style. “A Faerie’s Play” is like the second part of the previous track. The sound is pretty alike, with that lush mellotron accompanied by excellent guitar figures, the always imposing bass and of course, the top-notch drums. This song is simply amazing, it perfectly flows and offers us five minutes of pure heavy symphonic ala Wobbler prog. One of my favourite compositions!

A new element is added in “The River”, given the exquisite saxophone they implemented since the very first seconds. A vertiginous sound is shared here for the first minute and a half; later it slows down and creates a calmer rhythm that reminds me of some 70s acts such as Pavlov’s Dog (the music, not the voice, of course). Once again, the band put several jigsaws that together form the puzzle, each and every of them are essential to the success of the song. As I mentioned earlier, I love how they decide in which moments the voice enters and in which doesn’t, always in the precise moment. Here after four minutes we will listen to the probably most Yes-like sound in the whole album; later it slows down again, sax and acoustic guitar play for some seconds just before the music explodes once again. This is another excellent composition (which isn’t?).
Finally, this wonderful album finishes with “Lucid Dreams”, which is like the reprise of the first track, but this time with a glockenspiel playing. Now it is time to sleep, rest, relax and dream.

Wobbler strikes again with “Rites at Dawn”, an album that symphonic rock fans should not miss, but that is highly recommendable to any progressive rock aficionados.

Enjoy it!

Tracklist:

1. Lucid
2. La Bealtaine
3. In Orbit
4. This Past Presence
5. A Faerie’s Play
6. The River
7. Lucid Dreams

Line-up:

* Morten Andreas Eriksen – guitars
* Lars Fredrik Froislie – keyboards, marxophone, vocals
* Kristian Karl Hultgren – bass, saxaphone, glockenspiel
* Martin Nordrum Kneppen – drums, percussion
* Andreas Wettergreen Stromman Prestmo- vocals

guests:

* Ketil Vestrum Einarsen – flute
* Hanne Rekdal – bassoon

Uranian – La Ciudad de los Sueños

A great prog metal álbum from Argentina!

They are Uranian, whose debut album entitled “La ciudad de los sueños” offers the heavy side of progressive rock. Lately a lot of new bands and artists have emerged from South America, in Argentina particularly, we can find a wonderful amount of quality music in the last ten years, with progressive rock going from its most symphonic side, passing through the jazz-fusion one, and reaching the metal face of it. Uranian with their 2011 release, have entered to this wonderful realm, with a strong first album.

Instrumental progressive metal is what we will find here, with ten compositions that make a total time of 69 minutes; though I personally have some ridiculous issues with long albums, this time, I could actually enjoy all those minutes, which show the band’s high expectations and goals. Four members playing the “basic” instruments (bass, drums, guitar, keyboards) gathered and created this ambitious project, with well-crafted compositions, nice arrangements and clean performances.

It opens with “Amalgamas de soledad”, a few seconds with chording guitars and later the other instruments join creating that inherent heavy sound. What I like here is that since the very first track we can appreciate that the four instruments are essential for the composition, I mean, though there are some guitar riffs, it would not be fair to mention guitar leads the music, not at all, the four of them are indispensable parts of the puzzle.

“Alter ego” is a nice track where keyboards make a cool atmosphere, while drums mark the rhythm, and the strings perfectly complement the structure. Before reaching the second minute, the song slows down, the piano enters in a soft way, followed by very cool bass lines. Later it becomes more emotional due to a guitar riff; and then it creates multiple inner changes. “Regreso al origen” is closer to the symphonic side of metal, mainly due to the keyboard sound. The song progresses little by little, until after three minutes it reaches its climax, with a spectacular sound made by a guitar riff, a background keyboard and great drums.

“Melancólico recuerdo” is a much softer track, in which we can settle down our emotions a little bit; it has a melancholic, reflective sound whose guitar figures perfectly work as motifs. Some minutes later the intensity gradually increases, producing a vertiginous, yet emotional sound. “Paradoja ancestral” starts with nice and joyful piano, which seconds later is supported by acoustic guitar and drums. Later the electric guitar enters creating repetitive notes that continue with that nice and joyful sound, here they remind me a bit of some 80s/90s rock bands. Though later the song makes some good changes, contrasting its heaviest, with its softest side.

“0 bytes” is one of the longest tracks here, and I love how it begins, with a dramatic, suspicious atmosphere that let our imagination fly, in order to create our own story, our own scenes. This is a complex, ambitious track that let us know the band’s compositional skills, along with their performing capacities. There are various changes here, one of the best is when after five mintes it drastically slows down and shares a different mood; there are also great musical scales and also cool changes in the instrument leader. All in all give as a result one of the finest tracks of the album, without a doubt.

“En busca del sol” is a good song in which the bass player makes a wonderful work, easily appreciated. The musicianship is pretty nice (as in the whole album) and what I love is that they don’t really have a bombastic or mesmerizing sound, they actually keep a low profile in which there is no need of pretentious or see-how-good-i-am solos. “Transiciones” is a great track, I like how it starts with a calm rhythm and once again nice bass notes, and seconds later it becomes more powerful and emotional. Later we can listen to bass slaps, accompanied by nice rhythm and lead guitar, and cool keyboard background. Worth mentioning that the drummer also has its moments, he is very constant, but in a few passages he goes out the routine and introduces better figures.

The longest track is “La ciudad de los sueños”, whose eleven minutes clearly define what the music of Uranian is about. It starts softly, once again I highlight the bass; and then it becomes a bit heavier, creating a nice interlocution between all the instruments. There are different inner little passages in this track, like different pictures in one spot, but all highly related each other. The creative progressive metal sound is greatly represented here, with of course, the almost mandatory guitar riffs. And lastly, the album finishes with “Un tiempo después” which has at first a wonderful soft funky sound implemented by (guess who?) the bass, but later changes to that emotional prog metal Uranian get us used to. The song itself is involving us, until it fades out, so the album finishes.

What a great debut by Uranian, it is not the conventional bombastic prog metal, but I would undoubtedly suggest it to any fan of this genre.

Enjoy it!

Tracklist:

1. Amalgamas de Soledad
2. Alter Ego
3. Regreso al Origen
4. Melancólico Recuerdo
5. Paradoja Ancestral
6. 0 Bytes
7. En Busca del Bol
8. Transiciones
9. La Ciudad de los Sueños
10. Un Tiempo Después

Line-up:

* Fabián Castilla – Keyboards
* Sebastian Accordino – Drums
* Matías Bouquez – Bass
* Federico Larrosa – Guitars

Funin – Unsound

Bergen indie outfit Funin released this, their debut waxing back in November 2010 in their home territory Norway but it did not get a world release until a year later, and it seems to have gone under my radar until now, more’s the pity. Undoubtedly influenced by heavyweights such as Arcade Fire, Björk, Radiohead, Portishead, they have created an interesting listen with their seven piece line up, expanded from their beginnings as a duo, and now featuring a string section and sundry electronica.

The electronic beats and sundry strangeness on Inch Of Me combined with Marit Elisabeth’s elfin tones come direct from the Björk work manual but there are other things going down here, like Øyvind’s lounge-jazz ivory tinkling with languid flute that lend the song its own sound.

Away from the sphere of Iceland’s premier chanteuse, we have the gorgeous electro-soundscape ballad Everything initially sung by co-vocalist Gaute in the style of an angst-free Thom Yorke before swapping verses with Marit, and very nice it is too as the string section take the lead. Here it is…

Rocking Chair lurches along like a Tom Waits jazz from the dark side moment, but instead of Tom’s nicotine stained growl we get more of Marit’s dulcet tones, a combination that works well as handclaps and what sounds like a picked banjo bring the song to a close. Machine is not so much mechanical as menacing, eerie electronica on the beat backing Marit again, and this one has the Bristol sound of Portishead and Tricky going on, with Eastern sounding strings on top, ending with some distant piano. Strange and toe-tapping at the same time this song sums up the confidence of a band not afraid to tackle something a wee bit out there. We end withSkywalkers which starts off threatening to be an Arcade Fire style pop song but then abruptly goes deliberately awry.

All in all a confident and complex debut from a band that should go far, and indicative of the amazingly varied music scene that comes out of Norway.

Tracklist:

1. Unsound
2. Everything
3. Wonderland
4. Tornado
5. Last Day
6. Inch Of Me
7. Indestructible
8. Rocking Chair
9. Machine
10. Skywalkers

Line-up:

* Marit Elisabeth Svendsbøe – vocals and flute
* Øyvind Vie Berg – piano and rhodes
* Gaute Stedje – vocals and guitar
* Aleksander Tveit – guitar
* Sissel Ørstavik – violin
* Audun Berg Selfjord – cello
* Edvard Mjanger – bass
* Hans Christian Dalgaard – drums

Buy this here from those fine folk at Karisma Records, a label that gets more esoteric by the day!

Crystal Thoughts – Toxic Phenomena In Kosmic Fields

Guess this album might be CRYSTAL THOUGHTS’ (especially the frontman Spiros’) interpretation upon the ‘current’ acid folk.

CRYSTAL THOUGHTS, founded in 1999 as an acid folk duo by Spiros ROUCHOTAS and Vassilis STAVRIANAKOS but disbanded in the following year, were reformed under the same moniker as another quartet by Spiros. Finally in 2011 they have released their debut creation “Toxic Phenomena In Kosmic Fields”, featuring four new tracks, and one recorded in their beginning era.

At the same time, they should consider ’streaming and floating’ pretty important, and have played and recorded much carefully. They can amazingly come out with mellow, meditative, meaningful darkness and freshness in their soundscape, that sometimes sounds like mind-altering space rock like Pink Floyd for me but basically steady (namely, not whacked-out like Furekåben) acid-folksy colour comes to the fore. Cannot know whether I can call their primeval-flavoured melody line as Greek one or not, but their ethnic history or life should create such a deeply mysterious line. The first track “Kosmic Journey” sounds exactly cosmic / hypnotic / spacey, deeply in the core of meditation journey of their mind with altered states. “Psilocybe Effect” has definite acid folk depth and width with expanding sound echoes and eccentric voices by a sound effector – a bit inorganic and awkward though.

The titled track, the beginning of the B side, expresses another acid tour overlapped with typical folk pop scene, that indeed reminds me an early-1970s Japanese acid folk project Folk Crusaders (especially “Imjin River”). Female voices and cloudy flute solos are quite beautiful and tragic in “Tear Of An Elephant” – this stuff sounds a bit different from the other ‘dark / spacey acid folk’ for me. Don’t know in detail why it sounds so honestly, but I guess this song should have more definite ‘progressive folk’ structural essence here and there than others. The last shortest one “Carovna Pistalka” can be suitable for the epilogue of this album, with sharp-edged acoustic guitar, flute, and female narration (so graceful!) combo. Cool, delightful air is left around me after listening to this album really.

Tracklist:

Side A
1. Kosmic Journey (16:24)
2. Psilocybe Effect (3:30)
Side B
1. Crystal Thoughts (8:47)
2. Tear Of An Elephant (9:35)
3. Carovna Pistalka (2:30)

Total Time 40:46

Line-up:

* Lilian Tsatsaroni – all voices
* Mike Lawson – voices, narration
* Janka Helmeciova – narration
* Spiros Rouchotas – bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, flute, oboe, bassoon, electric sitar, nature sounds & effects

Links:

http://dedalospsych.blogspot.com/

Phlox – Quiver

Nice mellow psych-alt-prog!

Let me clarify something before we get confused, the band I am reviewing right now is Phlox, from Malaysia, please do not confuse with the Estonian avant-jazz band with the same name.
Well, so let’s start. “Quiver” is the name of the first full-length album of this young band, who had previously released a five-track EP back in 2009; in this occasion, they reunited ten compositions in which we can listen to their influences and style. This four-member band is trying to reach more listeners, so if you can go to their bandcamp site and help them, they would really appreciate.

So this 2011 release begins with “Quiver (part 1)”, which has a soft guitar in the few seconds, which later will be accompanied by drums and atmospheric keyboards. A minute later the atmosphere becomes tenser, with some kind of drama on it, we can appreciate it when the intensity increases. Later it slows down and finishes as it began. The second track is entitled “Speak to me”, here we can listen to a more aggressive sound created by guitars, which at the same time, and helped by the other instruments create a kind of soft psychedelic sound. In this track the vocals (in English) appear for the first time.

“High & Low” reminded me a bit of Gong due to the quirky voices and to the spacey and psychedelic sound in the beginning. Later it slows down a little bit with those mellow vocals, but only for a few seconds because it changes again to that increased intensity where the psych tones reappear. The track intercalates moods, the calm and the intense ones. “Morning Dreams” is a shorter piece with acoustic guitar and background keyboards, that create a nice and joyful sound.

It leads to “Quiver (part 2)” which happens to be the longest composition with almost eight minutes length. It softly starts and little by little progresses while the seconds pass, we can appreciate how it begins with a calm, barely listenable sound, and later becomes more intense. However this is a laid-back track, with charming vocals and delicate drums. The guitar work (both, acoustic and electric” is really good, nothing complex but always accurate. Though it is a long song, it does not really have notable changes, the sound and rhythm is the same during almost all the time.

“Everything Kills You” is another shorty with acoustic guitar and that joyful sound of the previous short track. “Where You Go” is one of those tracks with a sound closer to alternative or indie rock, this also reminds me of their EP, with this mellow, relaxed and friendly sound. This is a truly enjoyable song, though it is far from the progressive rock realm, but, who cares?

“Inside, Outside” retakes the spacey, atmospheric and soft psychedelic sound they previously shared. For the first three minutes the structure does not really changes, however in the last two it becomes more interesting, with some guitar riffs and a more intense sound. I dare say this is one of their finest moments, though I don’t like how it all of a sudden ends with the drums, I would have preferred a fade out.

“Bring me there” is the third and final short track with acoustic guitar, keyboards and joyful sound. And it leads to the final song of the album which is entitled “Quiver (part 3)”. It is actually my favorite of the quivers, due to its dramatic, yet emotional sound. I love how It is progressing, creating a wonderful psychedelic, spacey and atmospheric feast. Very good decision to finish the album with this track.

Phlox are an interesting and promising band, I am sure we will listen of them in the near future, meanwhile, spread the word and get their music.

Enjoy it!

Tracklist:

1. Quiver (part 1)
2. Speak to me
3. High & Low
4. Morning Dreams
5. Quiver (part 2)
6. Everything Kills You
7. Where You Go
8. Inside, Outside
9. Bring me there
10. Quiver (part 3)

Line-up:

* Hakim Tahar – vocals, keyboards, guitar
* Hanafi Rahman – electric guitar
* Syazwan Sazali – bass
* Ahmad Zulikhwan – drums, percussion

Moraine – Metamorphic Rock

One of the pleasures of this reviewing lark is that once in a while something hitherto unheard of will land in your inbox that simply takes your breath away. This is as you might imagine, a fairly rare occurrence, for although during the course of a year the reviewer may receive a handful of seriously good CDs amongst the piles of average and worse, to receive something astounding is a rarefied pleasure indeed.

Such a thing is Metamorphic Rock whose irreducible complexity, to borrow one of the song titles is of such a seriously magical content I just can’t put it down. This band is filling mega stadiums in a parallel universe where Simon Cowell is on trial for crimes against art.

Formed by composer and guitar player Denis Rea, Moraine have so far released just one studio album, Manifest Destiny in 2009, and Metamorphic Rock is a document of their appearance at the 2010 Nearfest in the USA in front of a small but appreciative crowd, most of whom no doubt know how lucky they were to have witnessed such a wonderful ensemble in action.

Covering the many strata of styles that results in an easily identifiable cogent whole is no mean feat but Dennis Rea – guitars, James DeJoie – sax, flute, percussion, Alicia DeJoie – violin, Kevin Millard – eight string bass, and Stephen Cavit – drums make it sound easy. Dennis Rea, guitar player extraordinaire, covers all bases from Page-like riffage to Fripp math excursions, along the way taking on Chinese scales and Far Eastern imagery, amongst a whole gamut of other influences. Until last year I had not heard of this man, and I regret that a lot! He is also a member of Moonjune heavy jazz-fusion combo Iron Kim Style and has recently released a gorgeous solo album, but they are stories for another page.

The compositional credits are dominated by Dennis, with contributions from James and Alicia and Kevin, with one group composition, and another written by since departed cellist Ruth Davidson who appeared on Manifest Destiny. Indeed, since that album the cello contributions have been replaced by James’ sax and flute.

After the almost Zeppelin-esque power of James’ opener Irreducible Complexity, an early highpoint is the three part track Disillusioned Avatar/Dub Interlude/Ephebus Amoebus. The first part is composed by Alicia and her violin takes a plaintive lead melody with Dennis’ subtle guitar sounding like an elongated sigh as the tune sways along, conveying the melancholy of a deity disappointed with the results of man’s “achievements”. When I read the word “Dub” in a rock context, the aural results are often cliché-ridden and cringeworthy, not this time though as the short unobtrusive section soon leads into Kevin’s jazz-infused Ephebus Amoebus. As a non-muso I often wonder how drummers write songs, but this guy has come up with a mini jazz symphony over which Dennis goes through all kinds of gear changes including an avant cacophony. Marvellous!

Dennis’ Disoriental Suite follows with a marked change of style with much Eastern percussion and is lifted from his solo album Views From Chicheng Precipice and manages to mix traditional Chinese music and Dennis’ take on that sound with a sort of alt-blues with absolutely no problems at all. This is a truly beautiful piece of music my friends, and one not to be missed, and the band’s easy intuitive style is one that should, if there was any justice, make Moraine a household name, at least amongst the prog community. Here I should mention the rhythm section which as is necessary cope with all the style changes and Eastern time signatures with a casual ease that should frighten off lesser mortals. Stephen replaced the original drummer and so had to learn most of this from scratch, which shows how good he must be.

Some of the other things I can hear in this are chamber prog, Zappa, jazz-fusion, avant garde sound painting and hoedown….that last one was possibly a joke. Unusually for a live album there are previously unreleased compositions on here as well as a good few tracks from Manifest Destiny, and the aforementioned lift from Dennis’ solo album. This was presumably to accommodate the new line up where the cello is replaced by the sax & flute, and the tracks from Manifest Destiny do sound fuller in this new context.

The Okanogan Lobe has some nice squalling guitar and sax and violin and is a tremendous thing running amok until it ends with a melancholy air featuring some nice reverbed violin and a soaring solo from Dennis. Even when things get a bit out there, as on Uncle Tang’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for instance, the madness never takes over to the detriment of the arrangement, such is Dennis’ and the band’s compositional flair. Blues For A Bruised Planet does what is says on the tin, free of tired old 12-bar cliché too. Some nice trading of licks and interplay between the guitar and violin permeates Middlebräu and we reluctantly come to the end of a stunning musical tour-de-force…damn, just hit repeat!

Hell, I’m beginning to sound sycophantic, but honestly, it’s not intended. Metamorphic Rock is a timeless slab of an album and there is nothing at all terminal about this Moraine! Do yourself a favour, if you like good adventurous music, be it prog or any other genre, buy this seriously good CD, currently available from Moonjune Records at a bargain $12 (USA) or $14 (outside USA) including shipping. That, my good people, is a steal, treat yourself!

Tracklist:

1. Irreducible Complexity (3:39)
2. Manifest Density (3:45)
3. Save the Yuppie Breeding Grounds (4:07)
4. Disillusioned Avatar/Dub Interlude/Ephebus Amoebus (10:25)
5.  Disoriental Suite (11:46):
a) Bagua
b) Kan Hai De Re Zi
c) Views from Chicheng Precipice
6. Kuru (4:31)
7. The Okanogan Lobe (7:36)
8. Uncle Tang’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (3:44)
9. Blues for a Bruised Planet (4:35)
10. Waylaid (5:31)
11.  Middlebräu (9:09)

Line up:

* Dennis Rea – guitars
* James DeJoie – baritone sax, flute, percussion
* Alicia DeJoie – violin
* Kevin Millard – NS/Stick (8-string extended-range bass)
* Stephen Cavit – drums, percussion

Effloresce – Coma Ghosts

The privilege of opening this reviewing year has been granted to Effloresce’s debut Coma Ghosts, released on February 10th on newly founded label Generation Prog Records. Having received all the info about the album during its recording process only increased my hunger to hear it, and luckily a few days ago I got that chance.

Coma Ghosts was mixed and mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö, well known name in underground circles. This fact will certainly have an impact in the band’s breakthrough to a wider progressive metal field. Comparing Coma Ghosts with their previous release, the Shades of Fate EP, Effloresce shows significantly improved musicianship. It’s evident that the songs were approached carefully, thus everything seems to be brought to perfection. Hypothetically, if Shades of Fate lacked for originality, with Coma Ghosts this factor is not questioned. The Nuremberg based quintet doesn’t escape from their influences. They have begun to base their sound around elements from Opeth’s Blackwater Park era and upgraded their own craftsmanship via singer / flutist Nicki Weber. Her vocals are mostly clean, but she doesn’t hesitate to deliver growl-screamwork in situations that simply require it.

Comprised of six numbers totaling a little bit less than 55 minutes, the album opens with Crib which scatters around a nice series of riffs a la Symphony X. All of the beauty lies between the masterfully developed rhythmic changes and melodiousness, which is achieved through Nicki’s clean vocals. This is actually what’s threading throughout the whole record. I feel like I should mention Agnete M. Kirkevaag from Madder Mortem, as Nicki’s singing is kind of reminiscent to this Norwegian vocalist. To quote from the album’s press sheet: ”Nicki takes the listener on a nightmarish trip through the bleakest corners of human existence, though there is always a little spark of hope that the soul of each of the songs’ protagonists is not lost (yet).“

The album’s flow is such that it will bring you down to the deepest abyss of the human existence and then bring you up again to its brightest moments. The multicolourness of Coma Ghosts certainly shines in its full glory on the album’s longest tracks, but shorter tracks (of which one comes as an interlude) complement the structure of the album and raise it to a higher level. That being said, the aforementioned interlude Undercoat, a track led by spacy synths and nice acoustic chord voicing is what separates and connects the two entities.

The first entity, made up of Crib, Spectre Pt. I: Zorya’s Dawn and Pavement Canvas, is a good introduction to the Coma Ghosts story. Crib, being an opener, exudes freshness that has been lacking from the vast field of albums my ears have heard in the last couple of months. On the other side, there is Zorya’s Dawn clocking over ten minutes, which simultaneously exudes futurism and antiquity. The song opens with the Mola-Ivanic guitar duo performing a classic riff cannonade guided by a huge Hammond melody line. A real ace. Pavement Canvas catches the run-up with a kind of ambient-atmospheric feeling, breaking out with a quality collection of riffs.

The Mellotron sound with acoustic accompaniment at the beginning of Swimming Through Deserts opens the second and final piece of Coma Ghosts. This track in particular is the dreamiest off the record, wriggling slowly down the album’s centerpiece – Shuteye Wanderer.

With its massive 16 and a half minutes, this epic discloses all the skills of the band, whether creativity or performance, complexity or easiness. Just like what Blackwater Park (the song) is for the album by the same name, structurally Shuteye Wanderer does the same on Coma Ghosts. It’s a closing achievement made of an army of exceptional moments, occupying a large space on a sonic journey through both ancient and futuristic.

With Coma Ghosts, Effloresce made a big step forward. It’s not only a big step forward  because it achieves so many glorious moments, but because it makes us proud to know this fine group.

Tracklist:

01. Crib
02. Spectre Pt. I: Zorya’s Dawn
03. Pavement Canvas
04. Undercoat
05. Swimming Through Deserts
06. Shuteye Wanderer

Line-up:

* Nicki Weber – vocals, flute
* Dave Mola – guitar, Mellotron
* Tim Ivanic – guitar
* Sebastian Ott – bass
* Tobias Süß – drums

Links:

http://www.effloresceonline.com/

Vlubä – Supraluminosos

Another psychic agent, let me say.

VLUBÄ are an Argentinean mysterious duo who have created drone / psychedelic / electronic ambient timbres since mid 2000s. As if I would get into a MRI machine, a bunch of electronic knocks chops can be jammed into my brain, with weird voices infernally saturated. Cannot only make an expression that they play electronic dark psychedelia, but also that they may be flowed along with the Kraut-ish ambiance they make by themselves, mysteriously. The second track is more drenched in loud / depressive noise-scape than the previous one, as if dancers on stage could fall more and more deeply into trance. Their dim voices veiled over by electronic effects sound pretty sensual rather than dreadful. Something ethnic or of another inferno can get to be our pleasure nonetheless. Noisy freaky ambiance like the fourth invades with relax into our mind, that will be altered its state. The last scene can be called as VLUBÄ’s core of soundscape, that fully involves ethnic, transgenic, ironic and hypnotic sound streams and atmosphere. You will realize what VLUBÄ mean to do in a flood of volcanic electronic madness finally.

Tracklist:

1. (7:49)
2. (8:05)
3. (4:26)
4. (6:29)
5. (13:24)

Total Time 40:13

Line-up:

* Müriscia Divinorum – voices, smk system, arp odyssey, chayera, storms, taikos, broken cymbals, magical mystery flutes
* Aphra Kadabra – egtr, gopichand, barbiebent, real time machine mixing, ray lasers

Links:

http://www.facebook.com/thechromemoon

Serious Beak – Huxwhukw

Special Providence – Soul Alert

Since forming in 2004, Hungary’s Special Providence has released two albums, Space Café (2006) & Labyrinth (2008). Soul Alert is their third album, out on 12^th January on Hunnia Records.

The band cook up a melodic dish driven by powerful dynamic rhythms, and although there are short solo sections, no one player gets to dominate proceedings for too long, the group preferring an engaging integrated approach, and their music could be described as symphonic prog-metal-jazz-fusion.

Babel Confusion toys with the listener by introducing some atypical speed metal riffing at the beginning, but soon settles into what becomes the band’s trademark style, melodic synth lines leading the way, followed by fluid jazzy guitar solos from Kertész and soaring synth workouts from Cséry, the metal theme returning to underpin the song.

A stylistic trait throughout is the centring of compositions around deceptively simple but catchy motifs. You won’t find interminable aimless wigouts in A minor here, and that’s a good thing too! There is nothing “flash” about this band, as can occasionally be the case in fusion when a band tries to disguise its lesser abilities by “shredding”, as fusion is not a style to be attempted without the necessary chops, which these guys definitely possess in spades.

The rhythm section is direct and unfussy, the drummer and bassist creating a punchy intro to Asparagus for example, over which a melodic guitar line sets the theme. Fehérvári shows what a great bass player he is on Return To Childhood and closing song Fences Of Reality surprises firstly by having vocals and secondly by reprising the melody from Lazy Boy where it was taken by the synth. A clever touch that brings a smile to my face!

Steering a path through Euro funk on Lazy Boy to melancholic jazz balladry on Incredible Flower, to prog metal on Soul Alert, Special Providence show why they are highly regarded as a live act, for although this CD is undeniably powerful, I can guess that they must be truly captivating on stage. These guys never attempt to dazzle with excessive virtuosity but prefer to stick to team playing, and they have hit on a formula that is both uplifting and involving, and you will be bopping round the room by the end. Most certainly a good purchase for the aficionado of prog metal jazz fusion.

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Tracklist:

Babel Confusion (7:24)
Lazy Boy (5:59)
Asparagus (8:20)
K2 (6:13)
Untold Chapter (5:12)
Incredible Flower (8:10)
Standing Still (3:52)
Soul Alert (7:40)
Return To Childhood (3:42)
Fences Of Reality (3:50)

Line-up:

* Cséry Zoltán – Keyboards
* Kertész Márton – guitar
* Fehérvári Attila – bass
* Markó Ádám – drums

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