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Round One Results, 4 of 4:
kingshmegland - King KongshmeglandBarock Project – Happy to See You:Bus Impression: One song made me proud of where I'm fromTimestamp Snippet: 1:38 - 2:02: I guess that's the closer you can fly to Jethro Tull without burning your wings. This goes to show how desperately out of the loop I stand: these guys started about thirty car minutes from where I have my morning coffee most of the times. Let's cut to the chase: the main theme is almost unbearable as far as grace and beauty are concerned. It's like Heavy Horses on steroids, and the tastiest part is the courage to let the melody end just a second before you get used to it. That's a way to describe musical elegance I suppose.
I'm not crazy for the electronic drums intervals (and that's why this isn't rated slightly higher), and after three listens I considered them a disruptive force. Then I found their redeeming quality: without those forced sterile time-outs I couldn't fully appreciate the way that amazing repeated theme subtly changes every time, by virtue of surprisingly mature strokes of arrangement. It's a secret story inside a gorgeous story, with something superflous in between.
Vote: 8.6 – A product of mediterranean sensibility impregnating classy folk progginess, just like yours truly genetically speaking.
lonestar - Team Fuck CanadaBeyond the Bridge – The Difference Is Human:Bus Impression: One song made me clap at deeply thought execution.Timestamp Snippet: 1:42 - 2:09: The most unassuming segment, yet I'm hopelessly addicted to it. When you deeply think a concept and its musical actualisation through with love and talent, you may find yourself with a marvellous sequence of themes and powerful moments. Case in point, the whole introductive segment alone simply shatters my scale for rational ranking. Alas, when you deeply think a concept and its musical actualisation through a little too much, you may find yourself complicating things and mildly compromising a sure shot at perfection.
Dividing this gorgeous journey in three acts (premises/struggle/solution), acts 1 and 3 are just everything you want and need from a concept song. Act 2 is slightly too convoluted and loses that otherworldly pace (but not the magnificent musical quality) appreciated before and soon to return. Then again, I'm just pointing out Mona Lisa's hair is slightly un-combed here. Odd fact about the singers, especially the male one: almost perfect at high registers, totally unrecognisable one octave down. Before checking, I was convinced there was a third dude.
Vote: 8.8: Just a little too smart for its own good, still a bonafide piece of art.
Parama - Six Roaming OwlsHail Spirit Noire – The Mermaid:Bus Impression: One song my dad would have lovedTimestamp Snippet: 8:50 - 9:55: You had to go "there" and spoil an otherwise perfect 10. Amazing. If I put the darkest, most haunting, and deepest among my father's albums – those that really bewitched my baby years – into a blender programmed on “Classic Sounds in Never Heard Before Twists”, the juicy outcome would dangerously resemble this song. The orchestration is fathoms deep (love the “submarine” systematic diminishing of fifths and sixths by half the ensemble) and the rythmic manipulation is really seaworthy. Instrumentation seals the deal: the perfect sounds at the perfect spots.
I was being a sneaky focker with the timestamps. That part is glorious indeed and I feel it could have belonged inside Maidens' debut had Paul Dianno passed more LSD around. The 10 was lost by the ridicolous whispering, in strident contrast with the previous “regular” vocals possessing an unexpected and enjoyed 70's psychedelic prog greatness (check this name: Demetrio Stratos). Also, the very last minute may be one of the most satisfying conclusions I've heard in years.
Vote: 9.0 – This is winning progressive music. Daring, competent, and not giving a fock.
Sacul - Hangmanen AddictsSnarky Puppy – What About Me?:Bus Impression: One song made me find hope for progressive music in unexpected placesTimestamp Snippet: 5:14 - 5:42: That is pantheon level drumwork inside a pantheon level track George Clinton and Billy Cobham had a baby in the Tower of Power, and the baby loves to rock. This is – as a matter of concept, not style – progressive music as I intend it. Don't give a damn about genres, pick a road without a destination set in mind, walk it with the best musicianship you can muster, and let your imagination surprise you. After the fact (and not before, according to some plan), just turn around, discover you've just created something fresh and great, and let some loser find a label for it.
This is the best of two worlds: catchy lines articulated by theoretical extremes, primitive pulse expressed through state-of-the-art groove. Music professors having fun with their abilities and open minds, ready to every possible outcome (in opposition to coldly concocting yet another lifeless and predictable variation to a noble tradition). I'm not even missing human voice, and that's telling. A lot. Like the tune ranked above, this blew me out of my expectations.
Vote: 9.0 – This may very well be a last second tracheotomy on suffocating prog music.
Coming back later with standings, thumbs ups and some considerations ...
Topic: Indiscipline's Roulette v. The Dirty Aftermath (Read 121201 times)
