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The Black Cat Neighbourhood (2010, 40.03) *** |
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| Only Human Hey You Bridges Use it for Good You Don't Care Work Song I Lay My Head The Black Cat Neighbourhood |
Give Us a Little Love Hold Your Horses Back and Forth New York, You're My Concrete Lover [Hidden Track] |
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Maria "Fallulah" Apetri's mixed heritage (Danish and Romanian) informs the music on her debut album, 2010's The Black Cat Neighbourhood, a heavy Balkan influence pervading most of its tracks. To be honest, its combination of mainstream pop/rock and pounding Eastern Europeanisms palls after a while, but kudos to Ms. Apetri for coming up with a genuinely new sound, just when you thought everything had been done.
Fridolin Schjoldan supposedly plays Mellotron on two tracks, with (maybe) background choirs on Hey You and string chords on the title track, although whatever Maria/Fallulah adds to Back And Forth is inaudible. However, I have to say that what little I can hear sounds all rather sampled, although I'm probably wrong. Again. Fallulah has been compared to the likes of the bonkers Natasha "Bat for Lashes" Khan and the more mainstream Florence & the Machine, but to my ears, she has more in the common with the former than the latter, which should be taken as a compliment.
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Beautiful (2001, 56.33/62.59) ** |
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| I am Beautiful Beautiful Days Paragon Love is Psychedelic On a Chair Whistle Song One Minute of Love Todos os Desejos |
I'm Still a Simple Man Black Dada God Save the Mona Lisa Beautiful Days (reprise) [Bonus track on some versions: Take Me to the Disco (Malibu mix)] |
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Fantastic Plastic Machine, or Tomoyuki Tanaka, as he's known to his nearest and dearest, is an electronic composer/musician, whose influences include Chicago house, lounge, bossa nova and French pop: just my kind of artist, then. Not. His third full-length release, 2001's Beautiful, is the kind of album you might play at the poolside at your luxury Bel Air mansion, although hearing it in the rather more prosaic setting of my music room probably rather dulls its impact, not that I was ever really going to like it, anyway. Its lengthy, largely repetitive tracks are doubtless perfect for its intended setting, but drag to the point of utter tedium elsewhere. Is there a best track? Well, One Minute Of Love's manic piano work makes it stand out as the joker in the pack, although I'm not sure if it deserves the term 'best'.
Tanaka's Mellotron samples only get two outings here, with flutes and strings on effective opener Beautiful Days and, er, album 'proper' closer Beautiful Days (Reprise). D'you know, unless you're big on ironic lounge/disco revival stuff, you don't need to hear this any more than I did.
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Reconstructed Artifacts (2002, 56.09) **** |
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| Relay Breakdown Warriors S-scape Orbit 5 Ancestors Flight of the Looking Glass North River Steam and Steel Towers |
Metropolitan Theme Into the Abyss |
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I'm sure you've all heard of Larry Fast, if not through his synthesizer project Synergy, then through his extensive session work with Peter Gabriel, Nektar and others. He began working as Synergy in the mid-'70s, using Mellotron on his first album, Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra only, although he subsequently played it on various other artists' work. Upon listening to Synergy again, the thing that makes Fast's work stand out from other exponents of synth-based music is his keen ear for a melody, uncommon at the time and virtually unknown in the world of the modern EM revival.
2002's Reconstructed Artifacts is one of those 'let's re-record our best work using bland modern sounds' albums; like so many of his contemporaries, driven to distraction by the vagaries of '70s keyboard technology, Fast is clearly in thrall to softsynths and the like, not to mention modern computer-based sequencing. In a way, I can't say I blame him; so much less work for, well, nearly as good results. I have a theory, though: the hard work of keeping all the old kit running, in tune et al. actually informs the creative process in a positive way. 'You don't get owt for nowt'. Then again, I could be talking crap. Either way, it's best approached as an effective 'best of', top tracks including Warriors from Electronic Realizations... (I'd forgotten how good this is), the Orbit 5/Ancestors segue and several tracks from '87's Metropolitan Suite.
Fast adds, variously, samplotron flute, string and choir parts to Electronic Realizations...' Relay Breakdown and Warriors, plus parts added to several tracks that didn't originally feature the instrument, giving us an idea of how he may've tackled them originally had he been prepared to nurse his M400 along. Then again, if he was using a Sound Sales (US importers) bodge, it's understandable that he gave up on it pretty quickly. Overall, this is a fine compilation of some of Synergy's best material, with extra fakeotron parts on several tracks, working well both as a starting-point to Fast's work and as an adjunct to his career.
See: Synergy | Nektar | Annie Haslam | FM | Intergalactic Touring Band
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Your Love Means Everything (2002, 45.17) **½ |
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| Your Love Means Everything Where is My Boy? Sweet Iris Bitter Kiss Waiting for the Green Light The Colossal Gray Sunshine Clocks Theme for Half Speed |
Greenfields Lost Broadcast I Only Know Myself Your Love Means Everything part 2 |
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Faultline are otherwise known as the London-based David Kosten, whose second album, 2002's Your Love Means Everything, falls loosely into the downtempo/electronica area, I suppose. Is it any good? Fucked if I know; it bored me stupid after about three tracks, but that probably has more to do with my boredom threshold than any wider definition of the concept. The album was reissued with a different tracklisting two years later, but I doubt whether I'll like that version any better.
Kosten adds sampled Mellotron strings and flutes to several tracks, but you can carry on living your life perfectly happily without ever hearing them. I'm sure this is good at what it does, thus the not-too-appalling rating, but I really can't recommend it to anyone who doesn't feel any affinity with his chosen genre.
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26½ (2006, 58.00) *** |
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| Das Sind Geschichten Grauschleier Die Wilde 13 (Geh) du Ran du Ran Einsam Sonntag Morgen Paul ist Tot Die Kleine Geldwäscherei Schlaflos Nachts |
Der Himmel Weint Stell dir Vor Chirurgie 2010 Club der Schönen Mütter Zarte Zeilen Internationale Alkoholen Magnificent Obsession Ein Jahr (es Geht Voran) |
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Fehlfarben are one of Germany's longest-running punk/new wave outfits, although there seem to've been some gaps in their hegemony. 2006 brought an unusual career retrospective: 26½, eighteen re-recorded favourites, all with (mostly German) special guests, including Herbert Grönemeyer (well, I've heard of him) and Brit Tim "T.V." Smith of seminal UK punks The Adverts. The material's pretty much what you'd expect from the era when most of it was written (the early '80s), tending towards the fast'n'furious, with the occasional synthpop number thrown in for good measure. Best title? (Geh) Du Ran Du Ran. No contest. It seems to be a rewrite of The Undertones' Teenage Kicks, rather than Planet Earth, but there you go.
New-ish member Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke (already something of a name in his home country, apparently) is credited with Mellotron, but the rather fake-sounding strings on Chirurgie 2010 make me think that he got no nearer to a real tapes'n'all machine than the guy who sampled it. But I could be wrong... Anyway, one for fans of Deutsch new wave, I think; certainly not one for Mellotron nuts.
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In Limine (1996, 61.37) ****IntroIn Limine XXV Preludio Ideenkleid Leibnitz Frei Hispanica Interludio Algos Orizzonte degli Eventi |
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Storybook (2001, 77.21) ****In LimineOrizzonte Degli Eventi Hispanica Altaloma Macinaaqua, Macinaluna Asia Phaedra Canto Antico |
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Harmony of the Spheres (2002, recorded 1993-99, 153.55) ***½ |
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| Al Piedi Della Grande Montagna The Fall Harlequin Refugees Nimrodel Alta Loma (live) Vorrei Incontrarti (Höstsonaten) Sea Song (Höstsonaten) Asia (demo) |
Cantoantico (demo) I-II-III-IV (Boris Valle) SYN (live) Dal Chaos (live) Isis (live) The Garden (Höstsonaten) Morning (Höstsonaten) Seascape (Höstsonaten) Tecnicolor 2100 (Zuffanti Solo Projekt) |
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Camel Tribute: Harbour of Joy (1996, 9.34) ***[Finisterre contribute]Nimrodel |
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Finisterre and their various offshoots (notably Höstsonaten) are known as part-time Mellotron users, so find themselves here either when using one live, as with Anekdoten, or when one hasn't been available for studio work. Their speciality is lyrical, symphonic progressive rock in the grand Italian '70s tradition, with little, if any of the irritating neo-prog tricks that crop up in so many bands' sound since the '80s. Hurrah!
1996's In Limine is in the same basic vein as the band's impressive debut, featuring considerable quantities of acoustic guitar, flute, piano etc, with not a single digital 'chiff' anywhere, not to mention a level of compositional complexity undreamed of by Syndone and their unimaginative like. The closing double-whammy of Algos and Orizzonte Degli Eventi add up to half an hour of excellent classically-influenced progressive rock, with a well-arranged string section and other orchestral instruments, making for one of the highlights of the '90s scene. Boris Valle plays a little sampled Mellotron on the album, with faint strings on XXV and a very upfront part towards the climax of Orizzonte Degli Eventi.
2001's Storybook documents the band's excellent set at Progday festival '97, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in front of a strangely muted crowd, although I believe the band played an afternoon set, never especially conducive to audience reaction. The album seems to be a slightly expanded reissue of Finisterre Live at ProgDay '97, adding their version of PFM's Altaloma, although I don't know if that means their whole set is now available. In case there were any doubt, many of Boris Valle's 'Mellotron' chords are held way over the eight-second limit, but then, where were they going to find a Mellotron in that neck of the woods? (Actually, you'd be surprised...). His entire use (on every track) consists of standard strings, strengthening the PFM connection, although the band really do have their own sound, with much Rhodes in evidence, though not in the overused jazzy way that so many players insist upon. Shame about the Crimson/Genesis quotes in the last two songs; Finisterre don't need to resort to such tricks. Anyway, a damn' good introduction to one of the better new Italian bands.
The following year's sprawling, two-disc Harmony of the Spheres is an odds'n'sods collection that tips over into related band territory, featuring several previously unheard Hostsonaten and solo Fabio Zuffanti tracks. Is it worth hearing? For the hardcore only, maybe, although it features several hard-to-find compilation tracks and the like, veering between the extremely primitive, previously-unreleased The Fall, an eccentric, female-vocalled version of Van der Graaf's Refugees and Asia, the guitar figure of which keeps making me think they're about to break into Rush's La Villa Strangiato. Just two samplotron tracks, maybe surprisingly, with a lush string part on Camel's Nimrodel (from Mellow's Camel Tribute: Harbour of Joy), although the synth brass is entirely unacceptable and strings on disc two's Morning, which seems to be also available on Hostsonaten's similar 2004 release, Springtides.
If you love '70s/'70s-influenced prog, you need to hear Finisterre, despite their occasional failings. Storybook is a good 'starter pack', In Limine's for the more committed and Harmony of the Spheres is really only for the 'have to have everything' fan.
See: Finisterre | Höstsonaten
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The Ayes Will Have it! (2005, 41.20) **½ |
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| To-and-Fro X + Variables Electrify A Computer au Palais Speculate, Speculate Pesky No, I'm Not So There |
It May Not Last Wong Side Hymn |
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Patrick Zimmer produces a rather poppy kind of electronica under the name Finn (not to be confused with Neil & Tim Finn's project, of course), making programmed non-dance music palatable, at least to an extent. One online reviewer raved about his third album, 2005's The Ayes Will Have it!, taking the opportunity to have a dig at Coldplay and their ilk, but I have to say, I'm not sure how wide the gap is between the two... Wispy vocals, droning electronics, quiet, heavily effected picked guitar... Quelle difference?
Zimmer's credited with Mellotron, amongst other things, with strings and/or flutes on most tracks, but the major string part on closer Hymn sounds just that bit too smooth for its own good, giving the sample game away. I think. Anyway, one for slightly wet people everywhere. I'll pass.
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Odyssey (2005, 51.27) **½ |
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| Just Let Go Cloud Never Win A Kick in the Teeth Everything to Gain We Need a War Get Confused Wednesday |
Happy Ritz 107 All We Are O |
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Fischerspooner are the New York duo of Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner, operating in what I believe is known as the 'electroclash' area (he says, in his best 'bemused old person' manner), although their second album, 2005's Odyssey, is quite clearly early '80s-style synthpop, using either analogue synths or good impersonations. The trouble is, songwriting of the Soft Cell/Human League variety just isn't happening here; it's all well and good having the sound, but unless you know what to do with it... Some of the synth textures are great, but I couldn't remember a single tune after the album finished; maybe I'm missing the point.
Anyway, I've had this down as a 'Mellotron album' for a while, but unless I'm heavily mistaken, the 'Tron strings on Everything To Gain are samples, with one or two other bits on the album that could be samples again. Of course, if anyone out there has more accurate information... Anyway, an average pseudo-synthpop album 25 years too late with a sleeve just made for the CD age. I wouldn't bother.
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Unspoken Whisper (1998, 53.25) **½Schoolyard FantasyWolves at War Childscream Unspoken Whisper Legend of the Old Man's Tree Xymphonia Heroes |
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Defining the Legacy (2000, 68.10) ***Defining the LegacyHouse of Cards Garden of Dreams Assassin Impulse Bridge to the Promised Land Mind-sculpture |
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Bridge to the Promised Land (2000, recorded 1994, 39.56) **Corrugated RoadChildscream Running on Empty Suicide Unspoken Whisper Bridge to the Promised Land |
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One for the Crow (2002, 58.11) **½One for the CrowOld Shoes Separate Daydream Nightlife Old Forest Limestonerock New Shoes |
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Tales of Imperfection (2005, 51.48) **For StartersMaureen Higher Ground Silent Stranger Captive of Fate Mantova Year After Year |
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Live in Budapest (2008, 78.50) ** |
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| Russian Roulette For Starters Maureen Old Shoes Limestone Rock Captive of Fate Mantova Year After Year |
Silent Stranger Garden of Dreams |
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Looking for John Maddock (2009, 52.26) **½The Garden PondSleepless Night Spring Waste of Time Don't Forget Us Looking for John Maddock |
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Flamborough Head are supposedly one of the Netherlands' better neo-prog outfits (there are some real shockers, I can tell you), possibly due to their forming too late to have anything to do with the truly execrable S.I. (Sym-Info) label. Based in the far north of the country, the band's cultural pointers are apparently more Scandinavian than mainland European, although neo-prog is, by and large, neo-prog, seemingly ignoring local cultural influences in the way of the best progressive rock. One point in the band's favour, however, is Theo Spaay's sleeve art, head and shoulders above most bands in the modern prog area.
I'm afraid I can think of no better description of their debut, 1998's Unspoken Whisper, than 'weak and generic'; there are moments of invention scattered throughout its length, but for the most part, it insists on repeating the same old neo-prog tricks (you know, endless Floydian guitar solos, Genesis-esque lead synth, the over-use of powerchords for emphasis, emotive vocals), Wolves At War being typical, starting well enough, yet falling into neo- clichés before it's over. Most tracks feature Edo Spanninga's samplotron, the strings being the very first thing your hear on the first track, with choirs used tastefully (always nice to hear) elsewhere.
Their second effort, 2000's Defining the Legacy, is essentially the same style, but improved enough to bump it up half a star; yeah, we've still got those neo- clichés, but slightly less obviously and with a better melodic sense throughout. Sadly, most of the chord sequences are as obvious as before, but the overall feel of the album is much improved. Plenty of samplotron, mostly choirs and flutes, with the odd string part thrown in for good measure, the real sample giveaway. Their second album that year, Bridge to the Promised Land, is a belated 'fans only' release for a batch of early (1994) demos and it has to be said, it sounds like it, both in the recording quality and the unashamedly neo-prog material, some of which was re-recorded for their first two albums, as you can see. The Mellotron samples are so vague that I'm not entirely sure they're not merely generic string and choir sounds, circa the early '90s, but they could well be from eMu's Vintage Keys module which appeared in '93. Either way, this really is strictly for fans; I can't imagine who else would want to hear it.
Unfortunately, 2002's One for the Crow takes something of a backwards step into insipid neo- territory, typified by Old Shoes' and Nightlife's slushy, exceedingly sub-IQ MOR chord sequences, all exacerbated by Margriet Boomsma's vocals, more suited to musical theatre than prog, I suspect, although her various woodwinds are one of the album's better features, along with Eddie Mulder's classical guitar. Originality's in short supply, too; Daydream cuts King Crimson's Epitaph a little close, making a change from the usual The Court Of The Crimson King, I suppose - oh, hang on, they rip that one in Limestone Rock. This definitely has its moments, but they're largely overpowered by the Lloyd-Webber stuff. A little samplotron, with strings on Old Shoes and Daydream, although that would seem to be your lot.
2005's Tales of Imperfection is, unfortunately, well-named: another bland, unadventurous neo-prog effort whose only break from tradition is a brief, strange pseudo-reggae part in Mantova. Once again, Margriet Boomsma's vocals infuriate and her woodwinds are a joy; does this cancel her out? Not that much samplotron, mostly strings dotted around here and there. 2008's Live in Budapest reiterates most of Tales of Imperfection on stage, plus a smattering of back-catalogue efforts. Is it any more interesting live? No. No, it isn't. The band can summon up the occasional memorable part, notably the synth melody in Limestone Rock, but they're few and far between. When Margriet states at one point, "This one's completely different", she can only be referring to the song's subject matter (does anyone care?), as musically, it's the same old same old. More samplotron than on most of the band's studio releases, strangely, but it's hardly enough to make this any more appealing.
2009's Looking for John Maddock is slightly better than its immediate forbears, although it's all a matter of degree, really. Far less of that pseudo-MOR slush this time round, while the lengthy, sometime-energetic title track is far better than anything they've written in a decade; why not more like this, guys? Bit of quality control needed, though; Margriet drifts off key a couple of times in Looking For John Maddock. Plenty of samplotron, too, Edo using the same sample set as on Flamborough Head offshoot Trion, though nothing to get that excited about, frankly.
Well, so much for Flamborough Head being 'one of the Netherlands' better neo-prog outfits', eh? OK, they have their moments and Defining the Legacy isn't too bad, but their 'musical theatre' approach to the genre wears the seasoned listener down quickly. Fair amounts of samplotron all round, should you be unbothered by the sounds' sometimes obvious sample origins; actually, if I were you, I'd listen to someone else entirely.
See: Trion
The Flower Kings (Sweden) see: |
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Chalk Dust Dream of the Tea Cozy Mitten Company (2004, 28.16) *** |
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| Live Oak Road In the Show The Sea is a Mellotron Trampoline I am the Coelacanth It's So Nice I Control the European Industrial Forest L.A. in the Rain How to Fly an Aeroplane |
Why Not Stop and Have Some Tea British Rail Bluebirds |
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Lavender Lane (2010, 44.12) *** |
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| Traveling By Trampoline L.A. in the Rain Over the Garden Wall In a Window I am the Coalacanth In the Glow Orange Balloons Yesterday Today |
Blown The Tangerine Albatross Lavender Lane Falling in Love Hazel Eyes I am the Door |
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The Flower Machine. What kind of band does that name summon up? Not to mention an album title like Chalk Dust Dream of the Tea Cozy Mitten Company? Correct: 220 bpm Belgian gabber. Or maybe not. The 2004 mini-album's a passable evocation of the original psych era, if slightly bland in places, while titles and lyrics come across as pastiche. Why Not Stop And Have Some Tea or British Rail indeed... Best tracks? Probably the ridiculously-titled I Am The Coalacanth and L.A. In The Rain; nothing here's actually bad, but not enough of it's good, either. Peter Quinell adds 'Mellotron' to a few tracks, with flutes on the ten-second The Sea Is A Mellotron Trampoline and How To Fly An Aeroplane (note British spelling; these guys are real Anglophiles), but are the flutes on In The Show actually supposed to sound like a Mellotron? I do hope not...
After 2006's I am the Door EP, the next Flower Machine release of note appears to be 2010's Lavender Lane, three of its tracks seemingly copied straight across from Chalk Dust Dream (although one's a slightly retitled edit) and at least one other also previously available. Does that make this a compilation? I suppose you'd have to define 'compilation', really. Anyway, a 'regular length' album, better new (to my knowledge) tracks including opener Traveling By Trampoline and The Tangerine Albatross, plus the not-new I Am The Door, with several tracks of samplotron, notably the flute solo and strings on Traveling By Trampoline, the flutes all over In A Window, Yesterday Today and the title track and the strings on I Am The Door.
So; are Flower Machine actually any good? The answer seems to be: 'in places'. Their infuriating inconsistency makes neither of these albums that great, hence their rather mediocre ratings, although the best tracks from both would be worth hearing.
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"...The Truth is a Fucking Lie..." (1999, 39.38) ***De Futura...The Truth is a Fucking Lie... Black Perversion P.A.L.S. Nipple - Clamped Medley If I'm Going to Become a 'Seminal Artist', I'd Better Suck Up to the Critics a Little Better/The Big Finale |
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Cataclysm (2006, 53.31) ***CataclysmDemonic Velocities/20,000,000 Volts Insektoid Horror The Elimination of Incompetence From Oblivion Interstellar War Fourth Movement of "L'Ascension" Regime I Regime II |
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Incarceration By Abstraction (2007, 46.59) ***½Assault on ApathyElectrocution Medusa Violent Shade Triplex (for Ed Rodriguez & Mick Barr) Crypt Emission The Serialization of Cruelty The First Time |
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The Flying Luttenbachers are pretty much synonymous with their leader, Christopher Todd 'Weasel' Walter, and employ a bewildering variety of styles to get their message across, not least free jazz, punk, metal and other, less obvious forms. "...The Truth is a Fucking Lie..." is their eighth album, including cassette releases and is as far into the avant-garde as anything on this site, I reckon. Its most coherent track is probably the eight-minute Medley, utilising death metal tropes alongside more 'trad' metal and noise/avant-garde influences, while Black Perversion is, essentially, noise, while their Magma cover, De Futura, is about as odd and Magma-esque as you'd expect. Now, that man Weasel is credited with Mellotron on the title track and it does indeed sound quite like 'Tron strings coming out of the right speaker, with a more 'standard' strings patch on the left. However... It sounds far too sample-like to my ears, with none of the crankiness you'd expect from a real Mellotron; this is pre-M-Tron days, don't forget and samples were rather less convincing. Of course, should it turn out to be real... I'd be amazed, though.
Some years on and 2006's Cataclysm and the following year's Incarceration By Abstraction are so similar that it's almost redundant to review them separately. More accessible (I use the term extremely loosely) than ...The Truth..., they both serve out large dollops of Crimson-at-their-maddest, with major hints of the kind of harmonic dissonance that Cardiacs tapped into in their early days. Does this sound like your bag? Ten minutes of it is fab: refreshingly direct, angular oddness that engages your synapses, but a hundred minutes straight is a bit much, frankly... Incarceration... seems to channel the noise in a slightly more cohesive direction, explaining the extra half star. There's more obvious samplotron on Cataclysm than Incarceration..., notably the strings on Regimes I and II, but neither album's exactly brimming with it.
So; avant-garde madness and a fake Mellotron. Up to you, really.
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Our Hearts Will Beat as One (2005, 49.27/54.30) ** |
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| Who Are U? Swim II Cold Heart II Hold Still II Start Over Again II Come Into My Heart II Our Hearts Will Beat as One II |
The Longest Road Open Legs Wide Bu_Urn Adeus, Não Afastes os Teus Olhos dos Meus [Fnac bonus track: When U Hit the Floor] |
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David Fonseca found fame with Silence 4, before going solo in 2003, 2005's Our Hearts Will Beat as One being his second release under his own name. I'm sure you're au fait with the concept of the 'local act': you know, the artist/band in a country that isn't the UK or US that apes one who is? Well, Fonseca is Portugal's one-man answer to Coldplay. Resultantly, we're 2:10 into the first track before Fonseca hits the falsetto button, just like all those successful British and American singers, right? The album's material is unremittingly bland, even the 'rocky' tracks that crop up occasionally between the ballads and mainstream pop.
Paulo Pereira plays 'Mellotron' flutes on Swim II and something (distant choirs?) on Open Legs Wide (which appears to be less sexist than it sounds), but I remain unconvinced, especially in a country little-known for its Mellotron ownership. You're not going to want to hear this anyway, are you?
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Palabras del Silencio (2008, 70.37) *½ |
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| Quién le Va a Decir Llueve por Dentro Otro Día Será (Desencontrándonos) No Me Doy por Vencido Aunque Estés Con Él La Mentira Lágrimas del Mar Todo Vuelve a Empezar Persiguiendo el Paraíso |
Todo Lo Que Tengo Aquí Estoy Yo Tienes Razón No Me Doy por Vencido (versión ranchera) Así Debe Ser No Me Doy por Vencido (versión urbana) No Me Doy por Vencido (versión banda) Aquí Estoy Yo (Luis Fonsi solo) Llueve por Dentro (versión en Vivo) |
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Born in Puerto Rico, Luis Fonsi is one of those 'technically American' Latin artists (see: Gloria Estefan) who've lived there most of their lives but were born elsewhere and work mainly in the Latin idiom. As a result, Fonsi's sound, while determinedly mainstream Latin pop, has elements of other American styles creeping in. His seventh album, 2008's Palabras del Silencio, consists mostly of revoltingly slushy ballads mixed with upbeat Spanish-language pop, although a couple of songs start off in a powerpop vein, before ruining the mood within a few bars.
Armando Avila is credited with Mellotron on three tracks, but whatever was used on Llueve Por Dentro, No Me Doy Por Vencido and one of the pseudo-powerpop tracks, the Cars-alike Persiguiendo El Paraíso is, at best, samples and at worst, nothing to do with a Mellotron whatsoever. Unless I'm wrong, of course. Anyway, a mostly horrible album that you'll want to avoid with prejudice.
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Carriage (2010, 35.41) **½ |
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| Phodilus & Tyto Tell Me- Cancer Minneapolis Sea to Land Keep the Kids Inside Pocketful of Rocks Oh the Wolves! |
Light You Up Constellation Believe Me If I Were a Tree |
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The Forest City Lovers are a Canadian indie/folk outfit, led by Kat Burns, whose third full band album (following Burns' 2005 solo release For the Birds), 2010's Carriage is, I'm afraid to say, a rather tedious effort, featuring neither strong enough vocal melodies nor interesting enough musical ideas to hold the attention of this reviewer, at least. Better tracks include the vaguely haunted Sea To Land and Believe Me, but it's a little like clutching at straws, to be honest.
James Bunton is credited with Mellotron, but I seriously doubt whether the strings on opener Phodilus & Tyto are nearer than several sample generations to a real machine. Overall, not awful, yet not very interesting, either. Maybe not.
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Say You're a Scream (2001, 37.05) *** |
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| Untitled Instrumental Theme #1 I Say You're a Scream The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Miss Moneypenny The Secret Life Long Tall Shorty Summer's Time The Pastel Queen: Compassionate Lotus Blossom of Immense Destruction |
Don't You Wanna Hear Me Now!, Baby!, Now! Stand Up! Dinosaurs in Brooklyn All Over Town No Fun Destination: Danger |
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Four Corners exist at the mid-'60s 'mod party' end of the powerpop spectrum; their (debut?) album, 2001's Say You're a Scream) was issued in the unusual format of (mono?) vinyl and mono and stereo versions on one CD, almost as retro as (and decades later than) the first Dr. Feelgood album, 1974's Down By the Jetty, issued only in mono. Switching between male and (rather weak) female leads, it's a slightly inconsistent record, highlights including opener Untitled Instrumental Theme #1 (you lazy buggers), Miss Moneypenny (you can see where this lot are coming from, can't you?) and The Pastel Queen: Compassionate Lotus Blossom Of Immense Destruction (!), although it all begins to pall towards the end, despite the (half) album's relatively short running time.
Neil Cleary is credited with Mellotron, with flutes on Summer's Time and The Pastel Queen, although a combination of their exceedingly bogus sound and production from noted sample user Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, Sunshine Fix) makes this a sample 'dead cert', just for once. So; not a bad effort, but too much filler. Notably, the band hasn't recorded since, which is a shame, as I'm sure they'd have improved given time.
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Reality - The Rock Opera (2003, 70.04) *** |
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| Overture Reality Magic Attic You Can't Change Me 25 Women, So Little Time Reality Idol It's Plastic Here Today, Gone Tomorrow |
Everything is Wrong Obsolete Rehearsals for Retirement Reality Check System Crash The Rebirth of Hope Together |
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Guitar Revolution (2007, 37.00) *** |
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| Revolution Jet Live and Let Die Within You Without You (Version 2) I'll Be Back Free as a Bird Ever Present Past Dance Tonight |
I am the Walrus Imagine Rockestra Theme |
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Les Fradkin has had a colourful career, beginning in the dying days of the '60s, working his way through a late-period version of The Godz (also working as Thornton, Fradkin & Unger & the Big Band), two hectic years as 'George Harrison' in the first Beatlemania stageshow and years of production and TV soundtrack work, finally working from home as a one-man band.
2003's Reality - The Rock Opera is the first fruit of his current labours, occupying the middle ground between an off-Broadway show, '80s pop and, maybe improbably, the more musical theatre-inclined strand of modern prog. Musically, an unsurprising '60s influence creeps in on several tracks, although the sampled drums give a pervasive (and slightly unwelcome) '80s feel to the proceedings. Fradkin writes with his wife, Loretta, so it's hard to say who's responsible for the lyrics, many of which are witty ruminations on modern life, better examples including You Can't Change Me and It's Plastic. Hugely ambitious, Reality overreaches itself in places, but is a welcome antidote to dumbed-down modern pop, which appears to have reached a new nadir lately. Fradkin uses the M-Tron plug-in, adding, variously, 'Mellotron' strings, flutes and/or choirs to every track here, admittedly not always that audibly, the most major example being on System Crash.
I haven't heard the next several Fradkin releases, but 2007's Guitar Revolution is an album of instrumental, guitar-led versions of songs by his first love, The Beatles, together and apart. While not exactly a resounding success, the album has its moments, notably McCartney's excellent Jet and Rockestra Theme, lowpoints being Lennon's maudlin and overplayed Imagine and a strangely gutless version of Live And Let Die. Fakeotron on several tracks, chiefly I Am The Walrus and an inventive rearrangement of Sgt Pepper's Within You Without You.
Les Fradkin has released a good dozen more albums that fall into the samplotron category, although when I might get to hear them can only be a matter for conjecture. A gifted musician, I'm not sure he's best served by regurgitating Beatles material, but if he manages to make a living from it, I wish him the best of luck.
See: Thornton, Fradkin & Unger | David Peel & the Apple Band | Beatlemania
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Okefenokee Dreams 2001 [as FSP/AirSculpture/Dave Brewer/Bill Fox] (2002, 68.22) ***½Wildlife at the OkefenokeeFive Sisters Swamp Impasse Road to Nowhere Tannic Tonic Southern Sunset Feedback |
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Free System Projekt is basically Dutch synthesist Marcel Engels, one of the major names on the international EM scene and a prolific collaborator, not least with our very own Brendan Pollard. In 2000, Engels played with Dave Brewer at Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, as immortalised in Tangerine Dream (had to get them in sooner or later)'s 3 am At The Border Of The Marsh From Okefenokee (from Stratosfear), releasing the recordings as Okefenokee Dreams. The project was considered so successful that they had another go the following year, Engels and Brewer playing with John Christian and Peter Ruczynski from UK EMers AirSculpture and US guitarist Bill Fox. The album opens with a recording of someone snoring loudly; unfortunate, as this kind of stuff is so often seen (with some justification) as soporific. Maybe they're being ironic? Probably. The rest of the album consists of all the usual Tangs-inspired moves; perfectly good, but largely indistinguishable from everyone else doing this stuff to all but the most hardened aficionado.
As expected we get sampled Mellotron choirs, strings and flutes on most tracks, with a particularly upfront flute part on the relatively brief Road To Nowhere, admittedly in rather predictable 'Berlin School' style. I know there's supposed to be more sampled Mellotron on the first Okefenokee album, but I don't know whether Free System Projekt have used the samples elsewhere. I shall report back when I get to hear some more of their output.
See: Free System Projekt
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Railings (2003, 49.57) *** |
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| Unlock the Door Virginia The Sweetest Sound Idiots What Went Down Suit & Tie Glory About Time |
Mine God's Children Second Hand Smoke Hole in the Ground |
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I've seen Philadelphia's Frog Holler described as 'Americana', but I think 'country' might be a better description, albeit in a trad kind of way, as they're a million miles from Nashville orthodoxy. Maybe they are Americana after all. 2003's Railings is their fourth album, covering a variety of country-related styles, so your potential enjoyment of it is directly related to your tolerance for vocals with a distinctly Southern twang and the occasional banjo solo. They seem to do it well enough, although it doesn't grab me in the same way as some of their contemporaries, for no obvious reason. Maybe they're just that bit too trad?
Someone plays a Mellotron-like flute melody in Suit & Tie, although it's almost certainly samples, with high notes that don't ring true at all and some background strings that are far too murky for their own good. This is a reasonable enough country album, in a folk kind of way, but there's probably a lot better out there if you're into the genre.
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Gold (2004, 41.07) ***½Bad LegThe Gauntlet Doing Research for an Autobiography Taking Liberties Powerpoint Acoustico Gomez Elastico Gomez Electrico Gomez |
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The stupendously-named Fucking Am are the last of four combinations of The Fucking Champs and Trans Am, the other being, of course TransChamps. 2004's Gold is their only album (at least to date), a mixture of the two bands' styles, funnily enough, highlights including the massive Thin Lizzy vibe on Doing Research For An Autobiography and the drone-rock of Elastico Gomez, although you don't get the feeling that anything here could have been left off.
Tim Green is credited with Mellotron, but the string line under a guitar one on Powerpoint sounds seriously inauthentic to my ears, frankly. Given that most of the two bands' combinations' 'Mellotron' use is at least a little suspect, that shouldn't really come as much of a surprise. Anyway, a good psychedelic hard rock album, but forget it for its supposed tape-replay.
See: Fucking Champs | Trans Am | TransChamps
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Sonnenhuhn (2008, 45.14) ***½Sun ChickenBlok People Liquid Pants Lost in Glasgow Blok 1 Flaking Reality Family Vapor Ropeswing |
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New Jersey's Fun Machine are an offbeat progressive outfit, clearly influenced by all the usual suspects: Zappa, Henry Cow, Cardiacs even. In fact, the last-named seem to be a major touchstone for the band, accentuated by Fun Machine's heavy use of a Farfisa, proving that Cardiacs have American fans, too. 2008's Sonnenhuhn (Sun Chicken, in case you needed to know) is an angular, almost avant- record, the kind that should carry on revealing hidden depths for many listens to come; if it has a failing, its wackiness quotient is possibly a shade too high, although the band largely avoid Gong-style silly voices, thankfully. Best tracks? Possibly the fifteen-minute Family Vapor, if only because it encapsulates all the band's disparate influences into one piece, although I'm not sure what's with the (deliberately?) out of tune guitar solo.
Keys man John Piatkowski sticks sampled Mellotron all over the album, strings and choir everywhere you look, to the point where I'm tempted to say they might have overused it slightly. Would you use a real Mellotron that much? Possibly, actually. Why have I not given this a higher rating? Relative immaturity; I know the band will improve with future releases, so I don't want to laud them too highly quite yet. So; well worth hearing, loads of samplotron.
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The Future Kings of England (2005, 55.42) ***At Long Last...10:66 Humble Doucy Lane Silent and Invisible Converts October Moth Lilly Lockwood The March of the Mad Clowns Pigwhistle God Save the King |
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The Future Kings of England are a nominally progressive trio (as in, 'get reviewed on progressive sites'), but are actually more like a metal version of post-rock (!); think: Godspeed on overdrive. The (genuinely) wittily-titled 10:66 is a highlight, while I was amused by opener At Long Last..., which sounds like a recording of King Edward VIII's abdication speech, but most of the rest of the album does that usual 'crescendo rock' thing, only louder.
Steven Mann plays sampled Mellotron choir and string parts on the post-rockish Humble Doucy Lane, flutes on Silent And Invisible Converts and strings and/or choir on several other tracks, although you'd never mistake them for the real thing. Don't get me wrong, this album definitely has its moments, but nearly an hour of loud, instrumental crescendo stuff can become wearing well before it's over.
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Papua New Guinea Translations (2001, 63.12) ***Translation 1: 12" OriginalTranslation 2: Papsico Translation 3: The Lovers Translation 4: Wooden Ships Translation 5: The Great Marmalade Mama in the Sky Translation 6: Requiem Translation 7: Things Change Like the Patterns and Shades That Fall From the Sun Translation 8: The Big Blue |
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The Future Sound of London (or FSoL) have dipped into most 'dance' styles over the course of their career, not least techno, drum'n'bass and ambient, leaving those of us on the outside slightly bewildered. Where does one genre begin and another end? Which is which? Does anyone actually care anyway? 2001's Papua New Guinea Translations seems to be where the duo (Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans) officially over-reached themselves, giving us no fewer than eight remixes of Papua New Guinea, supposedly their 'classic'. Admittedly, it's interesting to see how many ways talented studio types (which they undoubtedly are) can treat a piece of music, although over an hour of this stuff is pretty mind-numbing for the unconverted. But then, it wasn't made for us; it was made for their fans and if they like it, who are the rest of us to complain?
Psych influences are definitely creeping in here; Translation 8: The Big Blue features some very Floydian organ, while Translation 6: Requiem features harmonica and plucked banjo over 'Mellotron' string and choir parts from Mike Rowe, although I so strongly suspect they're samples that the album's gone straight to this section; the choirs sound OK, but the strings are far too smooth for their own good. Cobain and Dougans subsequently split their psych alter-egos off as Amorphous Androgynous, presumably keeping their FSoL moniker for their more dance-orientated projects.
Anyway, if you don't like 'dance music', whatever you may consider that to be, don't even think about listening to this record. What little Mellotron it has is probably sampled and isn't exactly groundbreaking, anyway.
See: Amorphous Androgynous | Robert Miles
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The Fyreworks (1997, 49.12) ***Master Humphries' ClockThe War Years Stowaway Balloon The Consequences of Indecision Broken Skies The Display |
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Danny Chang discovered progressive rock in his teens in the early '70s, eventually writing a set of material that was never recorded. Twenty-something years on, although only able to recall 'a couple of chord sequences', Chang put a band together in a similar vein, as prog became more acceptable again, including Cyan's Rob Reed on keys. The Fyreworks is actually rather better than I'd expected, partly due to reasonable songwriting, partly various guest musicians' contributions on flute and stringed instruments, although Andy Edwards' vocalising is pure neo-prog. Compositionally speaking, opener Master Humphries' Clock has an occasional air of England about it, mostly in the bass work, while The War Years heavily recalls Genesis' Entangled, although parts of Stowaway sail (sorry) too close to solo Rick Wakeman for comfort and did they really think no-one would notice the Yes cop on the lengthy Broken Skies?
Unsurprisingly, given Reed's involvement, the Mellotrons here are sampled (most keyboard parts are pseudo-analogue), with strings on Master Humphries' Clock, Stowaway and Broken Skies, plus flutes on the last-named. This album's a bit of a curate's egg, to be honest; plenty of good bits sitting amongst not so good bits. Although I wouldn't call the album overlong, maybe ten of the not-so-good minutes could've been trimmed to make a really good effort. It seems this was a one-off, Chang having moved into production, while Reed and drummer Tim Robinson subsequently formed the tedious Magenta, but I've heard an awful lot worse from mostly neo-prog musicians than this. Now long out of print, this is worth hearing as a kind of second-rung '70s impersonation. But why the fireworks sound effects at the end?
See: Cyan
