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Reviews
Weekly Reviews For April 17, 2005 I am also Assistant Editor & reviewer
at MetalUK. I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock You will also find some reviews at spacerock.co.uk
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New Reviews
The first name that springs to mind is Joni Mitchell as Katy has a similar jazzy feel to a lot of Ms Mitchells material. But Katy takes her songs into a more melodic pop folk idiom. There is also a clear progression from her debut "Katy Pfaffl", which is an excellent, but more traditional release into the outstanding "As She Stands", which features her finest song so far, "So Far Away". Mind you, there isn't a duff track across either CD, bar the single cover version, "Blackbird" - yet another damn Beatles song. Katy is a New York musician, although born in Milwaukee, a classically trained violinist and pianist, who has been playing East Coast venues for almost a decade, and it's clear to see how she has been perfecting her songwriting and performing skills. It's a shame the Norah Jones boom seems to have passed by, as it could have elevated her name, despite the dissimilarities in style and execution, but her songs are soo good, a few Radio 2 spins could have done wonders. As it is, you can do your bit by buying these CDs and proving once
and for all, that you have better taste than most.
For this album will be manna from heaven to hordes of seventies fixated progsters with Hammond B3, Mellotron, ARP and MiniMoog all getting used to dazzling effect. If you're looking for the easy comparison then it has to be mid period Camel, a wonderful and underrated legacy of music. And the Retroheads do it very well indeed, with the highlights including the remarkable opener "Earthsong" and "Urban Flight Delight" both replete with sophisticated arrangements. There are also hints of Eloy and Pink Floyd tucked away in the grooves, but this Norwegian outfit manage to make the songs their own. A highly enjoyable release which pays no heed to the whims of fashion.
More power to them!
Kaos Moon - The Circle of Madness I thought I recognised the name, and lo and behold, it is a rejigged version of the band who released a Saga type CD back in the mid nineties. However, these days they have went for a softer, more melodic approach, more akin to latter day Marillion than anything else. Which is a good thing. Whether it's the Eastern tinged fusion of "Eternal Light Avenue" or the majestic title track "The Circle Of Madness", this is excellent from beginning to end. Primarily the work of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Bernard Ouellette, Kaos Moon have put together an accomplished work. Always staying connected to the song, "The Circle of Madness" is at the commercial end of the prog spectrum, but there is nowt wrong with that. The arrangements are uniformly excellent, each given a special touch and attention to detail be it sitar, sax, violin, or pipe organ. It may be a bit on the short side by prog standards at 41 minutes,
but I'd rather have quality any day. Well worth repeated plays,
this was a delight.
Floorian – What The Buzzing
This is kind of a re-release, with the original “What The Buzzing” having come out in 2002, but here is a revamped version with 4 new tracks added to this release, which is over 28-minutes of new Floorian music, but shorn of 2 tracks from the original. The band say they are “exploring the realms of psychedelia, space rock and experimentalism… its own unique style of darkly melodic, hypnotic drone rock.” Which is pretty well right on the mark. Although they do know when to turn it up to 11, they just use it sparingly. They veer between more atmospheric pieces like "Auravine" and the stoner folk drone cross of album highlight "Symptoms Alone", a song so good, it is worth the price of admission all by itself. The album is replete with moments of magic, especially when they go all Spiritualized meets The Verve (that is to say the original The Verve). Away from that highlight I would gently point you towards the 8 ½-minute instrumental “Aether Spill”, a tune so pure space rock it hurts, or the Barrett era Pink Floydianism of “Alt. 11”. This is a record you will want to return to, time and time again, so get it now.
Truckfighters – Gravity X When I were a lad, this was primeval rock hewn from the hard rock and blues of Blue Cheer. Then it became stoner, but some people prefer to call it fuzz. Whatever, you call it, it is a fabulous howl straight from the bowels of rock and roll. Exemplified by Monster Magnet, the modern fuzz rockers take as many cues from the likes of early Hawkwind as they do Blue Cheer (hence the regularity of Dave Wyndorf giving props to said Hawkwind). And there are few sounds as good as a regurgitated Dave Brock riff run through a decrepit speaker at a hundred decibels. The best example here is the guitar on “Gargarismo”,
where the Truckfighters hit their peak while wailing incoherently
about supernovas before plunging into a strange hybrid of 1970 Black
Sabbath and early Kyuss. The drop in enough retro psychedelia to
make it relevant to a space rock audience, perform songs called
“Manhatten Project” and “Altered State”,
and even have the temerity to bring in a horn section for “Subfloor”.
The best fuzz / stoner album since the last We record.
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