Mood Swings

Archive for the ‘Year 2006’ Category

Verdict: avante-garde prog metal instrumentals

More info: www.unicorndigital.com, http://kopecky.8m.com/, www.williamkopecky.com

Kopecky are an American progressive rock band whose career started with their debut album in 1999. This was followed by Serpentine Kaleidoscope in 2000, Orion (live) in 2001 and Sunset Gun in 2003. The band have also provided support for top prog acts such as Porcupine Tree, Spock’s Beard and the Flower Kings.

The three brothers (Joe, William and Paul) create a dark metallic soundscape with their music.  The overall sound is like a marriage of Voivod and Dream Theater, albeit in instrumental form.  This isn’t easy listening as the album also has an avant-garde feel to it. These aren’t so much songs, as musical rollercoaster rides as the band hurtle along conjuring up a cauldron of riffs and rhythms. Unexpectedly, the band somehow manage to keep the listener engaged throughout all this, which is always a good sign for any form of instrumental music.

More info: www.karcius.com

Verdict: Progressively influenced jazz fusion

Karcius are an instrumental band playing a mixture of progressive rock and jazz fusion. The band was formed in 2001 and have released  two albums - “Sphere” and “Kaleidoscope”

Sphere actually dates back to 2004, but has recently be released by Unicorn around the same time are the 2006 album “Kaleidoscope”. On Sphere the band are getting to grips with their style which combines the expected jazz fusion workouts with some heavier progressive elements. On both albums the playing is well executed with all members doing a good job.  The only possible criticism of the debug is that at times it feels like the jazz and the rock have been forced together rather than blended.

On “Kaleidoscope” we hear the band move forward and develop their style with a more complete melding together of the jazz and heavier progressive element of their sound. The overall feel is something like Liquid Tension Experiment, albeit maybe not quite as intense. As expected on this style of music the band go through a whole host of tempo changes and atmospheres in each track never mind an album.

For a style of music that can often leave me reaching for the ’skip track’ button on the remote control, I found myself pretty much staying the course throughout the two albums, especially the second one which contains some fine examples of progressively influenced jazz fusion.

More Info: www.sallyrivers.com

Verdict: chill out soft rock

Sally Rivers is a vocal coach and session vocalist. Alan Whittaker is a songwriter who’s influences include Crowded House, Peter Gabriel, The Beatles and Neil Finn. Alan has released 3 solo album, but teamed up with Sally back in 2005 for the “Secret Life” album.

As I mentioned in a review of the Secret Life album, Sally’s vocals are good match to Alan’s songs. The style of music played by the duo sits in the same sort of soft rock territory as bands like The Corrs, Fleetwood Mac, Judie Tzuke etc.  This album progresses nicely from Secret Life.  This time out the arrangements seem a little richer and this seems to suit Sally’s voice. Style wise, it is another chill out type of album, best enjoyed with a good glass of red wine.

Verdict: A ‘high brow’ fusion of Jazz and classical strings

More Info: www.unicorndigital.com

Martin Maheux is the drummer with progressive fusion outfit Spaced Out, which is I guess the reason this found it’s way onto the Unicorn label. In fact, this is a rather curious release. It is a combination of jazz and classical strings. The upbeat jazz contrasts with the melancholy string arrangements.

To be honest there isn’t much here if melodic rock is what you’re after. The whole affair is a little too ‘high brow’ for your average rock fan. The tracks are quite long and there is a little variety between them. Definitely one where you have to been in the right mood to get the best out it.

More info: www.mrlilter.co.uk

Verdict: Jazz and swing based retro pop

Mr Lilter are band from North Yorkshire, England. They describe their music as “Mr Lilter are a bit like the stones crossed with The Doors, but a bit more upbeat and modern - and with both male and female vocals”. This is their first independently released album.

The band’s sound is a mixture of swing, jazz, ska and 60s pop but with a enough modern twists to make them sound contemporary. They are pretty far removed from Melodic Rock, but I guess the fact the term “Mood Swings” is often associated with jazz does explain how this found it’s way into my review inbox. The music is upbeat, sunny and of the toe-tapping variety.

The band remind me of The Divine Comedy in that the music is quirky and individual. I find The Divine Comedy’s music to be slightly irritating and to be perfectly honest Mr Lilter’s music has a similar tendency. That upbeat feel is too much for a grumpy old rocker like me!

The band ’swing’ their way through of a series of upbeat tracks that I have admit are extremely catchy.  Fans of quirky pop will love this, especially those that also appreciate 60s pop and 50s swing. The tracks that stood out for me were “This Passion” with it’s new wave vibe, the busker style “Time Bomb”, the catchy “Give Me Money” and the simplistic “My Sunrise” which closes the album.

I found repeated listens to this to be slightly annoying. This due more to a mismatch with my musical tastes rather than any fault with Mr Lilter. Those of you with more retro pop orientated tastes are likely to have a different opinion.

Verdict: Technical Power Metal

More info: http://www.winterfell.org/index.php

Winterfell are an unsigned American Power Metal band and this is their first full album release. I would describe their style as being a mixture of Iron Maiden and Metallica, with a few progressive elements thrown in as well. A bit research on the net whilst gathering information about the band indicated that Iced Earth are probably a good starting point in the comparison stakes.

In general the band romp their way through the tracks taking a fairly technical approach to their music with plenty of heads down virtuoso guitar. However, the band do also add variety to the sound using occasional acoustic sections and by taking a marginally more melodic approach than many other power metal bands.

This is an album that I found took quite a few listens to get into and in fact several of the tracks still leave me a little cold, although I can imagine that Power Metal fans will appreciate them. The tracks that worked best for me were ones which actually deviated from the standard approach on the album, such as the Metallica-like “Asatru” and “The Beggar King” and the ‘melodic Sabbath’ of “Once and Again”. Of the more typical tracks opener “Threnody” was the one that stood out of the pack.

Overall, Winterfell have done a good job on this self-released album. The Power Metal sub-genre isn’t one that particularly appeals to me and I found myself picking out tracks that resembled music that I am more familiar with as the best tracks.

Verdict: Uplifting guitar instrumentals

More info: www.jeffurso.com

Jeff Urso is an American guitarist who actually started out playing drums, but eventually moved onto the guitar. He has played drums and guitar in a number of bands, but for the moment he is concentrating on creating some instrumental music.

Jeff lists both Steve Vai and Joe Satriani as influences and these do come through in his music. However, if I had to make a comparison, I’d go for Neil ZaZa. Like Neil Zaza, Jeff’s album is more about melody rather than shredding. The result is an upbeat album where the ’songs’ take priority over technical demonstrations.

Opening track, “Straight Ahead” is a good start to the album. This is followed by “Feel Good” which ‘does what it says on the tin’. It is an upbeat carefree blend of acoustic and electric guitars which wouldn’t be out of place as theme for a TV holiday programme. “Rhythmic Wave” follows, this time with a calypso feel.

After the light comes the shade, in the form of the heavier “Low Down” and “Down & Dirty”. The holiday theme is back on “Warm Day” which gels well with the previous tracks. The album hits it’s high spot with the next track “Cyber Me” which has some good guitar work over a Jan Hammer style backing. “Perfect” cools the engines and the next track, “Thinking Of You” once again seems to complement the previous track really well. The album curiously closes with a gentile piano piece.

I have to admit that I enjoyed listening to this album more than I had anticipated. It was good to listen to an instrumental guitar album that felt uplifting rather than a dark exploration of complexity and speed.

Verdict (Rating): Promising alt-rock (80%)

More Info: www.lifesupportsound.com

Life Support Sound (LSS) are London based 4 piece outfit. Three of the members (Dave Taylor - guitar/vocals, Joel Macayana - guitar & Ian Hasell - drums) were in a band called Tinnitus in the early 2000’s. When James Beatt joined as bassist, the band became LSS. The current line-up has Andy Buchanan on bass (I wonder how long he’ll last!). The bands influences include Silverchair, Third Eye Blind, My Vitriol and Feeder.

That list of influences is a little on the modern side for my tastes, even if I will admit to hearing a Third Eye Blind track somewhere and thinking it was bad.

“Skins” is a good start to the EP with a good rockin’ chorus. “Thorn Covered Rose” follows up with a slower more melodic approach. “Race With Me” follows the lumbering verse meets explosive chorus formula with skill. “The Simplest Things” is a basic, but effective, acoustic track with a good melodic edge to it. “Crawl” completes the EP.

LSS have created a good alt-rock showcase for themselves and one that is worth investigating, especially for Mood Swings readers into the more contemporary side of melodic rock.

Verdict (Rating): AOR for the modern era (85%)

More Info: www.kryah.co.uk

Kryah consists of Scott Dean (Vocals/Guitar), James Martin (Keys), Daniel Chantrey (Drums), PJ Lauda (Bass) and Tom Martin (Guitar). They are a UK outfit and this 3 track EP was recorded at Abbey Road studios.

“March 15th”  is a modern rock tune that builds up to a good chorus and has a whiff of U2 in the guitar work. “Going Blind” in another  good modern rock tune this time in the vein of Matchbox 20. The U2 meets Matchbox 20 of “No Warning” reminds me of Diving For Pearls. In fact, thinking back to the other couple of tracks, “an updated version of Diving For Pearls” is a fairly good summary of the bands style.

I’ve had this EP sitting about for ages and I’m surprised that I haven’t played it more. I think the reason is that this short EP leaves you frustrated in that it leaves you wanting more.  It is always good to see a band trying to move the AOR genre forward and this is what Kryah have managed to do and I’m pleased to note that they are giving it their own modern twist rather than copying other modern AOR variations such as the the Power Pop of Harem Scarem/SR-71.

Verdict (Rating): Developing alt rock (70%)

More Info: www.leftarmover.com

Left Arm Over was formed in 2005 in Sidney Australia by brother’s Trent and Kevin Stewart. The brother have been jamming on and off for several years and decided to record some material in 2005.  This self titled EP is their first release.

The band quote influences including Sepultura, Monster Magnet, AIC, Fear Factory, Suicidal Tendancies and Silverchair.

The first couple of songs, “Captain Courageous” and “Mind Over Matter” are 2 minute blasts of what I’d describe as Punk. The buzzing guitars of “Milton” moves the sound in a more alt rock meets metal direction. “I Man Inside Me” is the heaviest and longest track at 5 mins. A heavier version of Nickelback is one description I came up with.

The band’s music is too alt rock to make them more than occasional listening material for an old 80’s metal meet’s fluffy AOR head like me, but if they can continue to develop tracks along the lines of “I Man Inside Me” then they will have potential in what seems like a crowded alt rock marketplace.