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With two keyboardplayers in the band
this Finish instrumental fivepiece is a fantastic revelation.
Imagine early Camel and early King Crimson woven into one and you
get a good idea about what this band is all about. The dreamy
effects are mostly evoked by means of the wonderful flute playing
whilst the more aggressive parts are introduced on Hammond B3.
‘Krawagna’ to me is like an edited version of the entire
“Snowgoose”. Especially the flute parts are breathtaking especially
when they intervene together with the Fender Rhodes. However I’m not
really sure what the drumsolo is doing in this composition other
than changing the song towards a Focus-like approach yet with
Latimer guitar ! Combine the high notes on a Fender Rhodes, which
almost sound like chimes, together with fine flute sounds and you
arrive in a dreamworld governed by fairies and elves. Here that
dreamworld is called ‘Walzwerk’. ’Humbelbee’ starts with a decent
solo piano piece which sounds both classical and jazzy at the very
same time. It’s a daring experiment to put an almost pure piano
concerto (it’s slightly ‘disturbed’ by flute and a little bit of
Hammond) on such an album but Groovector does it !
The
beginning of ‘Selangor’ probably is the weirdest of them all.
Distant native chant gets the company of some Santana-like
percussion and a rainmaker in order to deliver a latino kind of
vibe. Totally different to what the band offers on the rest of the
album but once again a nice proof of their versatility. ‘Melange’ is
indeed what it’s title implies. It contains bits and pieces of
different atmospheres and genres all nicely taped together, like a
book full of specimen from which you can chose. When the Fender
Rhodes is switched for the Hammond B3 the atmosphere turns more
aggressive. The acoustic guitar in ‘Berceuse’ accommodates a certain
Mediterranean feel which is a bit strange seeing Groovector is a
Finish collective. The final track ‘Elegie’ is kind of structured
around two different chapters. The first rhythmic part is not very
original compared with the rest of the songs. Then for the second
part the piano takes over turning the song once again towards a pure
acoustic nature which is of a brilliant classical high. Then
electric guitar injects a dose of rock/blues before recorder steers
the song once again towards the purity of the acoustic instrument
almost placing the song in the middle ages. A strange ending to an
otherwise promissing debut from a band which most certainly will
deliver better and even more interesting albums as time evolves.
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