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Trollheart · 08-11-2012, 05:15 AM

Superb German prog

Artiste: RPWL
Nationality: German
Album: Trying to kiss the sun
Year: 2002
Label: Tempus Fugit
Genre: Progressive Rock
Tracks
Trying to kiss the sun
Waiting for a smile
I don't know (what it's like)
Sugar for the ape
Side by side
You
Tell me why
Believe me
Sunday morning
Home again
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting Factoid: RPWL stands for Phil Paul Rossettio, Chris Postl, Karlheinz Wallner and Yogi Lang, the four original members of the band, though they're now a quintet.
Initial Impression: Good progressive rock, elements of Marillion and Gazpacho
Best track(s): I don't know (what it's like), Side by side, Believe me, Home again
Worst track(s): None
Comments: Been getting back into listening to some, to me, new progressive rock bands recently, and I'll be featuring some of them here on “Bitesize” over the next week. RPWL are a band whose music I've had on my PC for over a year now and yet never got round to listening to. I had a few listens to this already and found I really liked it. Good mix of lengthy, properly-prog epics and some really nice ballads, great instrumentals and really well-constructed songs, and even though they hail from Germany, where singers often tend to the sharper, more gutteral sound, or at least usually give themselves away by their heavy accent, there's a soft melliflousness about singer Yogi Lang's voice, almost a Gilmouresque quality to it. He also plays keyboards though, leaving the fretwork to Karlheinz Wallner.

There's a lovely sitar melody in I don't know (what it's like) which gives the song a very eastern-sounding influence. I find this closest to the best of Jadis, and it's extremely catchy and commercial. I'm not crazy about the somewhat unconventional ending though. It hits right then into a much heavier, grungier slow rocker, more in the vein of Hendrix or Free, with Sugar for the ape; lots of heavy guitar and a sort of metallic, muffled, almost mono vocal, though the chorus is quite incongruous with the rest of the song. Strange. Lovely piano ending, all the same.

After the somewhat pastoral sound of Side by side there's a big heavy prog epic in You, with a lot of Mostly Autumn in it, although even here RPWL don't push it too much. I would not call them an acoustic band, but with the exception of Sugar for the ape there's not anything too heavy on this album, and a lot of it is quite laidback without being boring. There's a Beatles vibe to Believe me, with a guitar solo almost lifted from Threshold's Sunrise on Mars and more sitar, this time though backing rather than leading. The album ends well then on the epic Home again, with a powerful homage to Gilmour in the ending solo, helping to set the seal on an album which proved to me, even on first listen, that further investigation into RPWL is required.
Overall Impression: A really good prog band who I need to listen to more.
Intention: More, please!

08-11-2012, 05:15 AM	#46 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Superb German prog Artiste: RPWL Nationality: German Album: Trying to kiss the sun Year: 2002 Label: Tempus Fugit Genre: Progressive Rock Tracks Trying to kiss the sun Waiting for a smile I don't know (what it's like) Sugar for the ape Side by side You Tell me why Believe me Sunday morning Home again Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero Interesting Factoid: RPWL stands for Phil Paul Rossettio, Chris Postl, Karlheinz Wallner and Yogi Lang, the four original members of the band, though they're now a quintet. Initial Impression: Good progressive rock, elements of Marillion and Gazpacho Best track(s): I don't know (what it's like), Side by side, Believe me, Home again Worst track(s): None Comments: Been getting back into listening to some, to me, new progressive rock bands recently, and I'll be featuring some of them here on “Bitesize” over the next week. RPWL are a band whose music I've had on my PC for over a year now and yet never got round to listening to. I had a few listens to this already and found I really liked it. Good mix of lengthy, properly-prog epics and some really nice ballads, great instrumentals and really well-constructed songs, and even though they hail from Germany, where singers often tend to the sharper, more gutteral sound, or at least usually give themselves away by their heavy accent, there's a soft melliflousness about singer Yogi Lang's voice, almost a Gilmouresque quality to it. He also plays keyboards though, leaving the fretwork to Karlheinz Wallner. There's a lovely sitar melody in I don't know (what it's like) which gives the song a very eastern-sounding influence. I find this closest to the best of Jadis, and it's extremely catchy and commercial. I'm not crazy about the somewhat unconventional ending though. It hits right then into a much heavier, grungier slow rocker, more in the vein of Hendrix or Free, with Sugar for the ape; lots of heavy guitar and a sort of metallic, muffled, almost mono vocal, though the chorus is quite incongruous with the rest of the song. Strange. Lovely piano ending, all the same. After the somewhat pastoral sound of Side by side there's a big heavy prog epic in You, with a lot of Mostly Autumn in it, although even here RPWL don't push it too much. I would not call them an acoustic band, but with the exception of Sugar for the ape there's not anything too heavy on this album, and a lot of it is quite laidback without being boring. There's a Beatles vibe to Believe me, with a guitar solo almost lifted from Threshold's Sunrise on Mars and more sitar, this time though backing rather than leading. The album ends well then on the epic Home again, with a powerful homage to Gilmour in the ending solo, helping to set the seal on an album which proved to me, even on first listen, that further investigation into RPWL is required. Overall Impression: A really good prog band who I need to listen to more. Intention: More, please! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-13-2015 at 05:37 AM.