Belgium
and Flanders in particular, isn’t really the top of the progressive world.
Our French speaking compatriots have a head start, but we are slowly closing
in on them. After the internationally tinged “If Only Stones Could Speak”
by The Bollenberg Experience, we have a full debut, called “International
Daylight”, by Mindgames. And without being chauvinistic, I dare say that
this superb album is a real treat. The
wide musical taste of the different band members can clearly be noticed, but
it never translates into a shameless copying of their great examples. (A sin
which a lot of other bands dare commit.) As references they give you names as
Spock’s Beard, Marillion, Yes and Zappa, so you get a picture in which style
you can situate this band. You
could call the music of Mindgames in its totality complex, varied, surprising
and powerfully dynamic, but by putting the accent on the band aspect, you get
a coherent entirety as a final result. Strong melodies, multiple rhythm
changes and a nice instrumental colouring of the songs are warp and woof on
“International Daylight”. You
find seven tracks on this first album of Mindgames, with a length that varies
from 2’34” to 17’23”. “Mental Argue” has the honour to open this
album and so it does, surprisingly, in a very quiet way: on acoustic guitar
and cello, accompanied by a vibraphone and bass, not the most evident way for
a band to introduce them to the world. All in all not an easy digestible song
with clever melody lines and surprising breaks but not the most best choice to
start an album with. I personally would have preferred “Factory Of
Illusions” as first track, which, with its ‘fat’ synth sounds and “The
Knife” organ sounds, smoothes the path for 11 minutes of progrock of the
highest quality. The integration of the flute and the vibraphone gives this
song a clear surplus value. Various pieces of “Signs From The Sky” also
sound superb, but the complete song is too fragmentised. The shortest track is
a real gem. “Beggars Breakfast” is 2’34” of silent beauty…splendid
piano sounds, acoustic guitar with a lot of atmosphere, a melancholic cello
and Bart Schram’s high, clear voice are the principal ingredients for this
delightful recipe. Synth
sounds, roll of drums, some spoken words and a howling guitar are the forwards
for the more then 12 minutes long “An Approach To Mankind”, again a smart
proof of the compositional ingenuity of this quintet. Brilliant passages and
less inspired moments alternate on “Dreaming The Circus”, so you stay
behind with some mixed feelings. But the members of Mindgames are daredevils,
because to emphasize their ambition, they entertain us with 17 minutes of
“Selling The Moon”. It’s a song that provides a lot of space for the
beautiful guitar solos of Rudy Vander Veken. The first part of this track
refers very clearly to “The Water” by Spock’s Beard, but it may be a
coincidence. Impressive end, by the way, with nice duels between Vander Veken
(guitar) and Truyers (on keyboards). The
sound quality is very good, but it could have used a little juicier, fuller
sound. Especially the guitars sound little bit pale from time to time. But
this doesn’t change the fact that “International Daylight” is a bull’s
eye, so the band doesn’t enter the prog arena by the side-door but by the
main entrance. A powerful statement from a superb Belgian band, an unknown
luxury! Does this mean that 2002 is the year of the big change? Mindgames
certainly gives our country a strong deck of cards. …some have beggars breakfast on their
plate…
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