Trollheart

"And I'd like to thank .. um ... um ...?"


Artiste: Dreamfire
Nationality: Unknown
Album: Atlantean symphony
Year: 2012
Label: Self-released
Genre: Ambient, electronic
Tracks:
Across the ageless ocean
Approaching Atlantean monoliths
Embraced by the light of the final dawn
The opening of eternity
A reflection of rebirth through the eyes of the forlorn
Into the temple of the elements
(Immersion into) The azure mirror of infinity
Tears of the enlightened
Atlantean symphony (Act I) --- Of grandeur and fragility
Atlantean symphony (Act II) --- A timeless lamentation carried
Atlantean symphony (Act III) --- Through fire into legend
An epitaph engraved on water
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: An anonymous work, thirteen years in the making!
Initial impression: Nice soft ambient electronic synth music
Best track(s): It's hard, even ill-advised, to pick out one particular track, as this is basically a symphony that flows from one track into another, but pieces that have stood out to me on their own merits include A reflection of rebirth through the eyes of the forlorn, (Immersion into) The azure mirror of infinity, Atlantean symphony (Act I) --- Of grandeur and fragility
Worst track(s): More or less as above; same idea.
Comments: This is indeed an interesting concept. You'll notice the “region” field has been left blank on this review, with a big question mark where the flag would normally be to show the nationality of the performer; this is because I don't know where the artiste comes from, as he prefers to remain anonymous, operating only under the pseudonym Osiron, and using Dreamfire as his operating project name. But all the work here appears to be the work of one man, who has been playing guitar and keys for over two decades, and has obviously been heavily influenced by the works of people like Vangelis and John-Michel Jarre, Air and other electronic composers, as well as having a deep grounding in the works of the classical masters. His music is therefore most based on synthesiser work, with some rather lovely classical guitar here and there, as in Embraced by the light of the final dawn, and can be seen, indeed should be seen as one overarching piece of music, a symphony indeed.

Due to that slight constraint, the music does tend to sound generally similar, with certain themes branching off from the main melody, but the music always more or less returning to its core sound. You would have to think Dreamfire has also experienced the work of Austrian instrumentalist Gandalf, if only in the titles of some of the pieces, which sound like they belong more in the era of psychedelia. As for the music itself, it's immersive, stately and grand for the most part, utilising sound effects and tricks like the muted roar of thunder, trickling rain, rivers running and so on; all the sort of touches that help music sound more organic, more from and in tune with nature. The soft guitar in A reflection of rebirth through the eyes of the forlorn (see what I mean about the titles?) is especially clever, counterpointed as it is by the mutter of distant thunder, a storm threatening on the edge of the quiet music. The church bells pealing as the piece comes to an end could perhaps be seen as rejoicing that the storm has passed.

Overall, it would appear (and again, information on this is notoriously hard to come by) that this album began life as two separate demos, all the way back in 1999, and has therefore been almost thirteen years in the fashioning. It certainly sounds like it's been worth the time taken. Interestingly, for an instrumental album, none of the twelve tracks here are overly long or stretched, the longest being just under six and a half minutes, some of them lasting barely two. There's some lovely use of the sound of dripping water in (Immersion into) The azure mirror of infinity, where you really feel like you're walking through a pool, and some synthwork that's almost too uncomfortably close to JMJ's classic “Oxygene”, but apart from that this is clearly the artiste's own creation.

The high point comes in the three-part title piece, each part separately titled and called an “act”, the whole thing running for a total of almost fourteen minutes (but shown as three distinct and separate tracks, hence my contention that there is nothing longer than 6:30 on the album), and presaged by a simple little piano line against wind noises, which then runs directly into the first part, or act, Of grandeur and fragility, running on a thick, heavy synth melody and a nice low bass choral vocal, then a higher, almost angelic choral vocal backed by thunder takes act II, A timeless lamentation carried until we slip into the final act, Through fire into legend, with a heavier, deeper synth sound and indeed that longest track I spoke about earlier. There's a sudden change of tempo now, with almost a classic western style on strings and horns, but that quickly settles down and returns to the grand, stately synth with now booming thunder accompanying it to its conclusion, some understated choral vocals riding along the wave, and we end on a rather lovely soft little piano piece.

Definitely an album you need to sit down and listen to in its entireity; I don't think anyone could get the same experience from “Atlantean symphony” by listening to tracks off it out of sequence. Like any real symphony, the whole is indeed more than the sum of its parts.
Overall impression: Thirteen years well spent! Wish I knew who to thank for this though...
Intention: If I can get the demos I'd like to listen to them, otherwise I guess just wait for his next release, which is tentatively pencilled in for next year.

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Inoffensive dreampop from the ex-Bangle


Artiste: Susanna Hoffs
Nationality: American
Album: Someday
Year: 2012
Label: Baroque Folk
Genre: Pop
Tracks:
November sun
Always enough
Picture me
One day
Holding my breath
All I need
Raining
Regret
This is the place
True
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: Just the Bangles' material really
Interesting factoid: Sort of copying Nanci Griffith on the cover of her album “Storms”...

Initial impression: More pop than I expected from the ex-Bangle
Best track(s): One day, Picture me, Raining, Regret
Worst track(s): Ah, there's nothing you can't really like here.
Comments: Okay, so I wasn't exactly expecting a hard rock album, but this seems a little too poppy for the ex-leader of the Bangles. Since the breakup of the all-girl band who had brief success in the late eighties, Susanna Hoffs has not exactly had superstar status thrust upon her. Her first two solo albums failed to set the charts alight, so much so that it's now been over fifteen years since her second album hit the shelves. I didn't listen to either of the first two, but there's a certain sense of acoustic folk mixed with pop on what I hear here. At least it sounds real, and she does co-write every track, so she's not just a (very) pretty face.

Guitar on the album comes from her co-songwriter, Andrew Brassell, with producer supremo Mitchell Froom adding some keyboards. At its heart, this seems to be a fairly upbeat, happy, inoffensive album, but I doubt it will be third time lucky for Ms. Hoffs, as nothing leaps out at me as being anything other than nice but essentially throwaway. Her voice of course is distinctive, and there are nice touches like the brass in the Beatlesesque Picture me and the accordion sound on the rather heavy Raining. Not at all surprisingly there are no long songs on this album, everything hitting the two or three-minute mark, short snappy pop ditties that, nice as they mostly are, are fluff that dissipates once they fade away, and I can't really see myself humming any of these after the album is done, or indeed listening to the album again.

But that's not to say it's a bad record. We all need a bit of fluff, musically, now and then, and while few people are going to take this seriously, it's inoffensive, likeable dreampop that does actually make you feel good, and Susanna seems to be having a fine time, her infectious enthusiasm and perhaps naive don't-worry-be-happy attitude as catching as laughter once started. There are elements of the older Divine Comedy in some of the songs too, particularly the backing vocals on One day, which essentially serves as the title track. Nice ballads too, with Holding my breath, Raining and the closer, True.

I have a small issue with the fact that the entire album only clocks in at just over thirty minutes, but then, I guess it can't be accused of stretching out ideas or flogging horses that have passed on, so maybe that's just the right length. Still, paying full price for this I'd have questions. Not that I do, you understand. Pay full price that is. But if I did, I'd be annoyed. Well, I guess it makes reviewing it that much easier when it's so short.
Overall impression: A nice way to pass half an hour; makes you smile, and that can't be bad in this hard tough world.
Intention: May dip back into this from time to time, but I'm unlikely to rush out to buy her two previous albums, or be that excited when she releases her next, if she does.

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Yawn! Another generic Power Metal album. Zzzzzzz


Artiste: Freedom Call
Nationality: German
Album: Land of the crimson dawn
Year: 2012
Label: SPV
Genre: Power metal
Tracks:
Age of the phoenix
Rockstars
Crimson dawn
66 warriors
Back into the land of light
Sun in the dark
Here on video
Valley of kingdom
Killer gear
Rockin' radio
Terra liberty
Eternity
Space legends
Power and glory
Chronological position: Seventh album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Freedom Call are a sort of offshoot band from Gamma Ray
Initial impression: Manowar on speed?
Best track(s): 66 warriors, Back into the land of the light, Crimson dawn, Sun in the dark, Power and glory
Worst track(s): Rockstars
Comments: Power metal bands are always a little hard to work out for me. They all generally follow the same formula: eye-melting guitar shredding, thunderous, steamhammer drumming and strong vocals, often frenetic keyboard passages riding along the guitar riffs. Freedom Call, whose first album this is that I've heard (although it's their seventh overall) seem to fall into the general category above, though there's a lot of what I suppose you would term Viking Metal in there too. To be perfectly honest, it's often a little hard to take seriously: the stentorian, dramatic vocals, the “warriors together taking on the world” image, the constant bludgeoning from the twin guitars of Chris Bay and Lars Rettkowitz, the former of which is also the singer and plays the keys too.

There are a hundred bands like these, some better, some worse, and it's a problem I constantly face when trying to sort the wheat from the chaff in power metal: there's just so much of what I'd classify as chaff, like Desert Sin, whose debut we reviewed just a few posts back. The thing in power metal is that you really have to, as it were, shout to have your voice heard. In other words, you have to have something that no-one, or few, else have, and so often this is not the case. Power metal is, by its very nature, quite formulaic and generic. There's nothing wrong with songs like Here on video, the title track or indeed Rockstars --- though the last does make you cringe a little with its boastful claims, if it's meant to be taken seriously. But what else is there? What track can you point to and not say that in a playlist for example, that could be any power metal band?

There's no doubt that there's a great sense of fun about the band, and I'm sure they go down a storm onstage. Very accomplished musicianship and a good vocalist in Bay, and some nice moments of neo-classical piano on the title track, again courtesy of Herr Bay, who appears to be the heart of Freedom Call, having formed it with ex-Gamma Ray man Dan Zimmerman in 1998. I'd have to say this would be a perfect album to play during a session of Warhammer or World of Warcraft, or as the soundtrack to a movie about Romans or Spartans; it just has that marching-gloriously-into-battle feel about it. 66 warriors (why 66? Your guess is as good as mine, and mine ain't very good: if this was a British band I might venture a theory of the World Cup, but Germany lost that one...) alternates between hard metal cruncher and heads-down headbanger, while Back into the land of light has trumpeting keyboard fanfares more reminiscent of the likes of Asia. Actually, this is my favourite so far.

The vocal is closer to death growls for Killer gear, with a somewhat incongruously celtic reel or somesuch on the guitar, celtic theme too to the closer, Power and glory, while the lyric in Rockin' radio is a little cliched: ”We don't play rap and hip-hop/ We play rock and roll!” But generally it's enjoyable, if nothing terribly new or ground-breaking.
Overall impression: Pretty good fun, but not an essential album. Basically, power metal is as power metal does --- stop me if I'm getting too technical.
Intention: I wouldn't be averse to hearing more, but Freedom Call wouldn't be top of my list either.

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Yes, but do humour and music go hand-in-hand? Read on...


Artiste: Barenaked Ladies
Nationality: Canadian
Album: Stop us if you've heard this one before
Year: 2012
Label: Rhino
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
I don't get it anymore
Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!
Half a heart
Old apartment
Shake your rump
Same thing
One week
Teenage wasteland
Long while
Second best
I can, I will, I do
Adrift
Chronological position: Third compilation album, fourteenth overall
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Barenaked Ladies (often abbreviated to BNL) began life as mostly a comedy act.
Initial impression: Nice laidback acoustic
Best track(s): Old apartment, Shake your rump, Teenage wasteland, One week, Adrift
Worst track(s): Nah, nothing: it's all good.
Comments: Perhaps I'm alone in this (probably) but I have never heard one single Barenaked Ladies song. Not one. And don't tell me about the theme to “The big bang theory”: I've never watched it. So although this is a compilation album, it's all new to me. As it goes, the vast majority of tracks on this album are previously unreleased, so really it's more a rarities than a compilation. Anyway. I guess the title makes a good joke, in that case, and the band are known for their quirky sense of humour.

Their humour certainly comes through in the lyrics too, like in the opener I don't get it anymore when the vocalist --- I can't say who, as every member of the band is credited with vocals, and none with lead --- says I met a girl I used to know/ I was lost/ She told me where to go”, and the general idea is of a more or less soft, laidback almost acoustic set, other than the second track Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! which is an uptempo and fun song. There's fun but of a bittersweet nature in Old apartment, then a rap reminscent of Run DMC in Shake your rump --- weird! Very tongue-in-cheek though.

Some great honky-tonk piano in Same thing, with a certain Eagles vibe, and an air of The Divine Comedy about Long while, but I must say, more to the point, BNL's clever humour is pretty damn infectious. The songs are good, but they're more funny than good, which is, paradoxically, a good thing.
It's hard to pick favourites, as the songs are all catchy, memorable and fun; there's nothing here I don't like.
Overall impression: Bloody good fun! Music's not bad either...
Intention: I'm impressed and need to look further into their music.

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Over forty years in the biz, Focus have had the magic ingredient for a long time now


Artiste: Focus
Nationality: Dutch
Album: Focus X
Year: 2012
Label: Eastworld Recordings
Genre: Progressive Rock
Tracks:
Father Bacchus
Focus 10
Victoria
Anok in kindergarten
All hens on deck
Le tango
Hoeratio
Talk of the clown
Message magic
X roads
Chronological position: Eleventh album
Familiarity: By reputation only
Interesting factoid: Although this is titled “Focus X”, and should therefore be their tenth album, it's actually their eleventh.
Initial impression: Back to the seventies!
Best track(s): Focus 10, Victoria, Le tango, Hoeratio, Message magic
Worst track(s): There are some I like less than others, but nothing I'd really categorise as bad.
Comments: Focus are one of those bands who just always seem to have been here. They were never formed; they just existed before even the Big Bang. They've always been around, and they always will be. Well, that's how it seems to me, and yet I have never heard a single track from these revered masters of the genre. In reality, Focus were formed in 1969 in Holland (or the Netherlands, if you prefer) and have had a total of ten albums since then, this being their eleventh. Why then is it called “Focus X”? I have no idea.

It would seem though that Focus are essentially firmly rooted in the seventies, with big instrumental passages, guitars drums and organ overlaid by flute, though unlike many prog rock bands of that, or even this, time, they don't seem to indulge (at least on this album) in epics, as most of the tracks are around the five or six minute mark, nothing over. The title track, which for some inexplicable reason they call Focus 10, exchanging the Roman numeral for a digital one, has some lovely laidback guitar and a taste of Steely Dan about it, very relaxed and effortless, solid organ riding behind the smooth guitar lines. So far though, other than one spoken line, more in the way of an introduction or announcement, this has all been instrumental.

There would seem to be a lot of jazz influences here (bad news for me!) but quite soft and flowing, rather than what I tend to see as meandering, often directionless playing --- I know, I know! Look, I just don't like jazz, okay? --- with mainman and founder Thijs van Leer the fulcrum of the band, playing Hammond, flute and keys, as well as doing the odd vocal. On guitar we have Menno Gootjes, replacing the irreplacable Jan Akkerman, but then he did leave in 1976, though he returned for the odd album. A rockier, but not that much more uptempo instrumental, pulling in influences from mid-eighties Genesis is Victoria, with some nice interplay between guitar and flute, then it's quite a shock to hear vocals come seemingly out of nowhere for All hens on deck, perhaps the heaviest track on the album so far, with spiralling guitar, driving organ and of course flute. The vocal is sparse, almost just mimicking the notes on the organ, but it's still interesting to hear some singing, if you can call it that. Pretty improvisational, I'd say.

Great bit of classical guitar on Le tango, with a certain eastern tinge to it, slowing everything right down and indeed introducing the first proper vocals from van Leer, and to be fair they've been worth waiting for, as he is one heck of a singer. The rhythm section keeps it tight and everything ticks along nicely, while Hoeratio has a lot of solo Tony Banks atmosphere in it, until van Leer comes in with almost spoken vocals in what I assume is his native language, adding a further layer of weird on the song, followed by breakout guitar by Gootjes, and Talk of the clown, with its bouncy flute lead and bassline, sounds like something they use as the soundtrack for one of those badly-animated kids' shows I used to watch when I was, well, a kid: the likes of “Mary, Mungo and Midge”, where the emphasis was more on colour, fun and being friends than technical ability in the field of art. It also comes across as something like an Irish jig; needless to point out, it's quite short. And weird. It's followed by Message magic, another short song, though in contrast this opens like a Nick Cave song and then goes into an almost AOR style slow guitar instrumental, with some nice piano. Parts of the melody also remind me of ABBA. Closer X roads then goes back to the jazz, pumping it all up with a fast piano, ticking bass and rolling drumbeat, kind of reminds me in places of the early work of Supertramp. Bit of Santana in there too, then just when you think it's another instrumental, Thijs van Leer comes in with a vocal to close the show. Nice.
Overall impression: Good musicianship, would liked to have heard more vocals, but overall not bad. Doubt I'll become a fan of Focus though... bit too jazzy for me overall.
Intention: I'm not that pushed but I might, maybe, try another album. Or I might not. Probably not.

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Surprisingly flat offering from the first lady of Country


Artiste: Nanci Griffith
Nationality: American
Album: Intersection
Year: 2012
Label: Hell No
Genre: Country/Folk
Tracks:
Bethlehem steel
Never going back
Intersection
Waiting on a dark eyed gal
Hell no (I'm not alright)
Stranded in the high ground
If I could only fly
Just another morning here
Bad seed
Davey's last picture
Come on up Mississippi
High on a mountain top
Chronological position: Twentieth album
Familiarity: see review of “The loving kind”
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: A nice start, very gentle and reminscent of her older work.
Best track(s): Bethlehem steel, Come on up Mississippi
Worst track(s): High on a mountain top, Waiting on a dark eyed gal, If I could only fly, Bad seed (Note: this is the first time ever that I have had more than one “bad track” on a Nanci album, which just shows you how disappointed I am in this one).
Comments: I thought long and hard before putting this here, as I have recently reviewed Nanci's last album prior to this here also, and didn't want to minimise her by doing a shorter review again. She is one of my favourite artistes, after all, certainly among my favourite Country performers. But like School of Seven Bells' “Ghostory”, reviewed in my main journal, I prepared myself for this review by adding this album into a running playlist, but unlike SSB's album, almost everything I heard from this annoyed, depressed and underwhelmed me. I've never had to say that about a Nanci album before, but I'm pretty sure she struck out here, at least as far as I'm concerned. So I don't think this album merits a full review.

Interestingly enough, the opener, Bethlehem steel is one of the songs I haven't heard off it, and I quite like it: reminds me of some material from “Last of the true believers” and “Once in a very blue moon”, particularly Ghost in the music. Nice slow acoustic Americana. Next one up is not bad either, and Never going back is typical of her gentle, soft acoustic country soul, then the title track has some nice electric and slide guitar, a slow ballad with some very minimal percussion, but one thing I think that sets the album apart from her others, in a bad way, is the over-preponderance of covers. There are five in all, far more than any of her other albums have had.

And they're not great covers either. Waiting on a dark eyed gal is as dated as it sounds, sounds like an old Eagles song though not as good, and the closer, High on a mountaintop may have worked for Loretta Lynn, but it just annoys me, putting me in mind of the Waltons and, for some reason, the Muppets! It's a real down-home, hillbilly song which in some ways denigrates the whole idea behind country music as played by bumpkins and hill farmers on jugs and jews harps. Terrible, and an awful one to end with. But before that we have more terrible covers, like the insipid If I could only fly and Davey's last picture. Oh for the love of God! She even puts in a version of It's just another morning here, which appeared on her “Late night grande hotel” album more than ten years ago now. Why? It's a much weaker version than the original too.

She does however kick out the stays on Hell no (I'm not alright), giving vent to some of the fire and anger that characterised some of her earlier work, and the standout for me comes in the form of Come on up Mississippi, a slow, moody, downbeat song which I think is hers but may be a cover --- information on this album is hard to come by, even from her own website! For me, Nanci's songs usually revolved around the hard times in America --- songs of factories closing, industry disappearing, the rise of technology and historical episodes like the Dust Bowl --- as well as tender and often bitter love songs, then some that were just about having a good time. She always seemed to have a direct line into the American consciousness, rather like Springsteen, to appear as "one of the ordinary folk" and so her songs resonated that bit more with you. Here, I think that connection is lost. Although the opener sets a great tone, the rest of the album does not live up to its promise and quickly descends into something of a parody of a country album.

Hopefully this is not indicative of the direction she's going in, and we can expect much better from her in the future. I suppose after nineteen albums you can forgive her the one slip, but even at that, it's hard to take from someone I've regarded as such a talented artist, and have followed down the last thirty years.
Overall impression: Just got worse as it went on. Few bright spots, but not many. Big let-down.
Intention: One album doesn't ruin an artist for me, when I've enjoyed so much of her music. I will, however, be scrutinising her next release carefully.

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Trying to punch somewhat above their weight


Artiste: Wolfsbane
Nationality: British (English)
Album: Wolfsbane save the world
Year: 2012
Label: Self-released
Genre: Heavy metal
Tracks:
Blue sky
Teacher
Buy my pain
Starlight
Smoke and red light
Illusion of love
Live before I die
Who are you now?
Everybody's looking for something
Child of the sun
Did it for the money!
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: None
Interesting factoid: Singer Blaze Bayley is probably best known for his (some would say infamous) stint with Iron Maiden in the nineties
Initial impression: Good, honest, no-frills metal
Best track(s): Teacher, Illusion of love, Smoke and red light, Starlight, Child of the sun
Worst track(s): Who are you now?
Comments: I've a bit of a dilemma here. I hated Blaze Bayley for what I see as his almost destruction of Iron Maiden with the two albums "The X factor" and "Virtual XI", yet I love the title of this album. It's just so kitsch, and I have to give Wolfsbane a chance. As it turns out, it's not bad, considering their last outing together was 1994, shortly after which Bayley joined Maiden and his band split up, before reforming when he returned to the fold in 2010.

There are a lot of fun tracks, like Teacher, Everybody's looking for something and the closer Did it for the money! (which is certainly refreshingly honest, if a little tongue-in-cheek), with its semi-rap/Run DMC-style vibe, but is there enough serious fare in between to make this album worth listening to? I was never a fan of the vocal style of Blaze, and even here I think he sounds maybe a little forced, but as I say I'm biased. Everything kicks up about four gears for Buy my pain, almost thrash metal in parts (which I personally feel doesn't work) although there is a little bit of what I'm coming to see as Wolfsbane humour, when the lyric mentions crucify and Blaze imitates the centurion in Monty Python's "Life of Brian" as he quips "Crucifixion?"

In contrast, Starlight is a half-ballad, quite commercial and airwave-worthy, while Smoke and red light gets things rockin' again, one of the better tracks to be honest, with a great hook and catchy chorus. There's a lot of eighties Whitesnake in The illusion of love, with some great guitar work from Jase "The Ace" Edwards, and fine powerful percussion from the brilliantly-named Steve Danger. It even fires off into a sort of southern rock ending, with splashes of Queen multi-vocals. Cool.

Look, despite the (obviously humourous) title, Wolfsbane ain't about to save rock and roll, metal, or indeed the world with this album, but it's not half bad. I wouldn't be rushing out to buy it for Christmas, but it might be a pleasing little stocking filler. If nothing else, it does prove at last that there is life beyond Iron Maiden for Blaze Bayley.
Overall impression: Nothing much bad to say about this. Pretty entertaining, though I can think of a dozen other albums I'd listen to before I'd spin this again.
Intention: Meh. Nothing really.

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Really needs the Alan Parsons Project to make him shine. Bit dull solo.


Artiste: Colin Blunstone
Nationality: British (English)
Album: On the air tonight
Year: 2012
Label: Universal UK
Genre: Rock/AOR
Tracks:
Turn your heart around
The best is yet to come
Wild places
On the air tonight
Though you are far away
So much more
Dancing in the starlight
For you
Not our time
Over you
Chronological position: Tenth album
Familiarity: Only through his work with the Alan Parsons Project
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Nice opener but very reminiscent of APP
Best track(s): Turn your heart around, So much more, Though you are far away, For you, The best is yet to come
Worst track(s): Wild places, Over you, Dancing in the starlight
Comments:
No, not the Phil Collins song! Possibly an unfortunate choice of title for his tenth solo album, but there are in fact a few similarities between Colin Blunstone's music here and the ex-Genesis drummer. I admit I had hoped for more: the guy is sixty-seven though, so perhaps I should be a little more forgiving, and it's not a bad album, not at all. It just doesn't excite me the way I had thought it would. There's a lot of carryover in melody terms from his time with the Alan Parsons Project: it comes through right from the off, and in other tracks such as Wild places and the title track, with the former not only nodding to APP but also the Zombies, another of his previous bands, and indeed a flavour of Genesis from "Turn it on again", strangely, right as the song comes to an end, with it must be said some very heavy organ.

The album is a mixture of uptempo AOR-style soft rock and pop and heartfelt ballads, with The best is yet to come and Though you are far away, which is in fact a song which appeared on his debut solo album, all the way back in 1971. Absolutely beautiful piano on this, and it really showcases Blunstone's soft, passionate style of singing. It is however hard to separate the singer from the band, and as Blunstone is best known (after being the vocalist on "She's not there", the Zombies' huge hit from the sixties) for his work with the Alan Parsons Project, the fact that the opener has all the hallmarks and could be one of their songs is not heartening. But let me check: ah, it's one of his old songs from Keats. Okay then.

There's nothing wrong with the music; as I said, it's a good album, but I would have preferred to have seen Colin step a little away from the associations with the APP, who though they are one of my favourite bands have had a pretty major influence on his career, especially in the mainstream. I mean, ask anyone who's not a fan of his who he is, or where they remember him from, and you'll get one of two answers. Few are likely to remember --- or even know of --- his nine solo albums prior to this, and this was I feel his chance to break that conception of him, an endeavour in which I believe he fails here, if he even tried it. That said, there are some great songs, with apart from the ones mentioned above the Christoper Cross-like So much more and the soft, almost jazzy ballad For you singled out for praise. Not crazy about the salsa-like Dancing in the starlight though.

In the end, the more I listen to this album (third time now) the more I begin to appreciate it, but it's still a far cry from what I had expected. Perhaps my expectations were a little too high, or unrealistic.
Overall impression: Grew on me, but I wouldn't be in a huge hurry to check out his other releases
Intention: As above

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System message .... this journal is currently offline .... too many 2012 albums to be properly reviewed by Trollheart in his "Playlist of Life" .... This journal will reactivate January 1 2013 .... Thank you .... Logging off System .... Delay ten seconds ... Logging in to System ... System message .... this journal is currently offline

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Ahoy-hoy! Happy New Year everyone! After a short break over the Christmas period, we're back to bring you short(ish) daily(sort of) reviews of first-listen albums (for me). I'll try to keep this as updated as I can, but with now three journals to juggle, you'll forgive me if I neglect this one a little, though I hope not to. Ah, for more time...

Anyhoo, let's get on with our first "Bitesized" review of 2013...

It's this one.

Can't be confined


Artiste: Antimatter
Nationality: Unknown
Album: Lights out
Year: 2003
Label: Prophecy Worldwide
Genre: Ambient?
Tracks:
Lights out
Everything you know is wrong
The art of a soft landing
Expire
In stone
Reality clash
Dream
Terminal
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: "Planetary confinement"
Interesting factoid: This album was recorded in Dublin! Yay!
Initial impression: Similar to "Planetary confinement" but more electric than acoustic.
Best track(s): Lights out, Everything you know is wrong, The art of a soft landing, In stone, Dream, Terminal... pretty much everything really!
Worst track(s): Expire (only because it's unnecessarily long)
Comments: When I reviewed Antimatter's third album, "Planetary confinement", some time ago, I was not really expecting much, and was quite taken aback by the stark, raw beauty of the music I discovered on that album. I'm not sure whether that was an isolated record in their catalogue of, to date, five albums, or whether I can hope to hear more of the same on this one. The sound could be totally different, I don't know. But this time I'm going into this with my expectations somewhat higher; hopefully I won't be disappointed.

Well, it starts off with an air-raid siren, which is both disquieting and interesting. This runs into choral synth vocals and a melancholic downbeat piano, as the title track gets going. Vocals, as with the previous album(as in, previously reviewed, although in fact chronologically the next album to come) are taken by guest female singers, here we hear Hayley Windsor, whose soft yet yearning voice complements Mick Moss's perfectly, echoing slow drumbeats painting a backdrop of doom and despair with a certain fragile charm into another lonely piano melody that takes Everything you know is wrong aboard Mick Moss's mostly solo vocal, joined at times by Windsor again.

Definite sense of Pink Floyd circa "The Wall" in the guitar, some really spooky, out-of-this-world synth from the other half of Antimatter, Duncan Patterson, with Hayley's sultry vocals in their last performance carrying The art of a soft landing. Though this album is far less acoustic than "Planetary confinement", the basic themes and feel of it seem pretty similar, and I think perhaps I may enjoy the rest of Antimatter's albums. Some grinding hard guitar in this, though nothing I've heard from this band could be described as heavy or even rocky really; it's all quite ambient, if darkly so.

On track four, Expire, we get to hear the vocal of Michelle Richfield for the first time, and the tracks are getting longer now. Haunting bassline carries this track with some crying violin and simple percussion. This and the next track she'll sing herself without Moss, and the penultimate track, though he comes back in on the next one, In stone and Reality clash --- the former of which he sings solo --- with the closer being completely instrumental. It must be said that Expire, at eight minutes long, is completely stretched beyond breaking point: there's no reason it needs to be that long, especially as the last three minutes or so feature the same piano melody with Michelle repeating the one line over and over.

More Floydisms can be seen in In stone, with an echoing, repeated vocal that fades out, and some deep sonorous keyboard with a nice soft plucked guitar line, the latter probably more reminscent of later Floyd, around the time of "A momentary lapse of reason" and "The division bell". There's also a spoken vocal over this track, sounds like Stephen Hawking (another Floyd link?) and this is an example of a long track that doesn't sound dragged out: it's almost eight minutes too, but never lags or droops in any way, keeping the interest all the way through.

There's a real sense of grandeur and dark majesty about Reality clash with a lovely violin and piano outro, then Dream is probably the most uptempo and punchy of the tracks on the album, with the clear voice of Michelle Richfield back for her swan song. Great ominous, "Tubular-Bells"-like piano melody running through it with some dramatic synth; definite standout. Mind you, the instrumental closer, Terminal comes pretty damn close to beating it out!

Overall impression: From this album it would seem that at least two of Antimatter's catalogue are well within my ability to enjoy, and I'd be interested to hear how they changed for the next release, which is described as "heavier, with little trace of the ambient sound of early Antimatter". If that's true, then I'll be disappointed, but even so I'm intrigued to hear how their sound developed after Duncan Patterson left.
Intention: Definitely look more into this band. Must check out Patterson's new band, Ion, too...

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018