Strongly rooted in an adoration for VDGG,
Parallel or 90 Degrees has evolved towards a more contemporary sound.
Keyboardplayer and vocalist Andy Tillison-Diskdrive still is the nucleus of
the band augmented with extra synths from both Sam Baine and Don Watts. The
power and energy contained in the opening song ‘Impaled on railing’ to
me contains the same freshness and directness as that of stalwarts Vulgar
Unicorn. Then again ‘A man of thin air’ holds a poppy approach similar
to Jump. More energy pours out of ‘The heavy metal guillotine approach’
which in a way even comes close to … the Prodigy ! Po90 certainly likes toying around in the studio
illustrated here by the danceable Watts composition ‘Drum one’ where
distortion is heavilly featured. Although most of the Po90 material is
rather complex you can never rule out the typical British humour. Take the
titletrack ‘More exotic ways to die’ which is constructed out of parts 1
to 6, yet in reality seven compositions make up the whole. To make things
even more bizarre, the final track ‘A body in free drift’ was recorded
live when it was still called ‘Free drift’. Again some superb Hammond
and synth solo’s form the backbone of this powerful track. Certain
compositions on this new album are searching for new horizons. Take ‘The
dream’ which is the kind of sound collage Radiohead has been offering us
on their latest albums. The atmosphere changes completely when Ken Senior
opens his heavy metal vaults during ‘Petroleum addicts’ sometimes
steering the music towards Uriah Heep territory. Reviewed by John ‘Bobo’ Bollenberg |
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