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Reviews
Weekly Reviews For June 26, 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
This is a remarkably elegant set of melodic prog rock, something all too rare in the refined world of extended musical suites, but essential when the title track clocks in at nearly 26 minutes! Granted, that’s the exception here, although you will fimd some other numbers hovering around the 8 minute mark. It’s odd how some acts seem intent on length, but without giving you something to hold on to. Well, Kaipa don’t fall into that trap. There are similarities to Stolts work with the Flower Kings, especially the incorporation of Swedish folk melodies, but this project stands on its own merits, rather than deferring to previous works. The title track is the highlight of the album as it was meant to be, but I was particularly taken with the ballad “Shadows of Time”, a duet between Aleena and Patrick Lunströrm. Maybe I was just feeling fragile the day I heard it, but it’s the number I keep returning to. Musically, the guitar solos are in a world of their own, living and breathing in a quite remarkable manner. I never really rated Raine Stolts work with the Flower Kings, but I’m going to have to revisit his earlier pieces to see how I managed to miss it! A truly excellent release, quite unlike anything else you’ll
hear this year.
Scott has worked in the past with Jean Luc Ponty and Chick Corea
amongst others, and that’s apart from his seminal work with
Tribal Tech. Here he sets out his stall in power trio format with
Kirk Covington on drums/vocals and John Humphrey on bass. I’m
assuming the latter is not a relation of the BBC newsreader, although
from the blurry insert photo, anything is possible! If you’ve missed any of the previous releases in this idiom, well shame on you. This is the first trio release since 2002’s ‘Well to the Bone’ and features an array of reinvented originals as well as a revisit to the Victor Wooten/Steve Smith/Vital Tech Tones collaboration, ‘Nairobe Express’ and a superb cover of the Wayne Shorter gem, ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’. Although he has a distinct style of his own, it would probably help the uninitiated if I mentioned the names Vai and Satriani, but melded with a Double Trouble feel in places. But it’s not a traditional blues outing as the palette of sounds is too wide to be constrained by one genre, touching on jazz, fusion and world music, often within seconds of each other. If you were looking for somewhere to start, then I would suggest ‘Jakarta’, originally on the Tribal Tech album, ‘Reality Check’ or the delicate cover of 'Fee Fi Fo Fum', complete with some fabulous bass work. One to enjoy over and over, if the intricacies of the guitar hold
a fascination for you.
Querelle – Querelle Querelle have been on the go for 4 years now, releasing tracks across compilation albums and split singles, leading to this, their self titled mini-album. People who should know better are bandying the name Sonic Youth around, but don’t run away screaming “overrated indie pap”. Stop and listen, for their angular art-rock is very much the in sound of 2005. At least amongst a tiny cabal of students dotted around London. The rest of us are partying hard at the Motley Crue reunion tour and plotting to return hair rock to its rightful place at the head of the pile. Pun, fully intended. However, in the world where people with too much time on their hands and a lack of appreciation for the blessings of their huddle in trenchcoats muttering about Ian McCulloch, this release will be manna from heaven. Melancholic, tinged with feedback, lyrics full of semi-hidden meanings that you know were scribbled in a bus shelter with the rain beating down, I can almost feel the noose tightening. This could be their year, for they are far better than most of
the acts plying this 1983 sound round the toilets of the capital.
All they need is Steve Albini behind the console and one of the
members attempting suicide, and they’ll have the Berwick Street
market sown up.
Thomas Bromley – Standing Strong
Well, it is the summer of the troubadour if James Bl(o)unt is anything to go by. A wistful look, a shameful video and a unique selling point (USP to the record industry) can go a long way. So is Thomas Bromley the next Radio 2 big shot? Well, there’s no reason why not, for he has the songs and the melodies. “Standing Strong” is the big ballad that summertime yearns for. Nothing special, but pleasant enough. However, the B-side (in old money), “Bye The Way” is where he shows that he actually has a personality and some attitude. He could make a fortune in modern day Nashville with this song! And his record company have faith (and money) to invest, linking him up with producer Porl Young, of Christina Aquilera and Kelly Clarkson fame. Some more songs as good as “Bye The Way”, and we might
be hearing a lot more from the former farm boy.
Barry Wedgle – In Your Dreams A highly enjoyable set of smooth / Latin jazz stylings from Barry Wedgle, greatly augmented by the excellent vocals of Anne Kennedy. Not that Barry Wedgle is a slouch, when he has a guitar in his hands. This is a man not afraid to mix up styles, having started in rock, moved into jazz, and is a maestro at flamenco. And you don’t get to play on two Grammy-nominated jazz albums unless you know your way around the strings. Great songs, good arrangements, some intricate guitar work, and
what more could you ask from a CD. He may have toured with Harry
Belafonte, but this is no ‘Banana Boat Song’. A very
accomplished collection.
Daniel Patrick Quinn and Beano Jameson
- Suilven007 Another exquisite release from Suilven Recordings, from my home town of Edinburgh, recorded in leafy Stockbridge. This set consists of four pieces – ‘Dunstanburgh Castle’, ‘The Sun Rises’, ‘Death On The Ridge Road’ and ‘Sutherland County’, and continues in the fine tradition of Suilven CDs. A beautiful series of instrumentals sweeping through your consciousness, bordering on the ambient, but having enough life and vigour to prevent them dropping into background music. Each piece transports you to a cold, barren landscape, sometimes dipping into minimalism, but holding on to a human feeling, where others prefer to be clinical. The highlight is ‘Dunstanburgh Castle’, a five minute sojourn, with some delightful strings, which should be soundtracking a gothic movie sometime soon. Well, not really, but you get the idea. My one gripe is its brevity. An unusual complaint from me, but
for once I was left wanting more.
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