|
In the prog scene, Rob Sowden, better known as the vocalist and
front man of Arena, seems to have more capabilities than we’ve given
him credit for. Not only does he possess a set of blessed vocal
chords, but he is also a talented song writer with a definite
musical feeling like the new prog bands (ŕ la Radiohead, Muse,
Mogwai and Pineapple Thief, just to name a few). Solar, and the
debut CD, “Dark Places”, is the result of Rob’s artistic aspirations
and, with this, he has really hit the nail on the head.
A
first assessment : on this CD, the excellent singing qualities of
Arena’s imposing front man are truly justified. And much more so
than in the sometimes heavy and bombastic song structures of Arena,
where Rob’s emotional tone of voice seems, too often, to be forced
into a straight jacket. A second assessment : as a song writer, he
can easily place himself near the upper crust of the relatively
young prog scene, but it’s not as evident as it seems. The
competition rarely sits still and is continuously coming out with
new material. A third assessment : Solar has made a very sensible
choice by allowing “Dark Places” to be surrounded by excellent,
although less known, musical guests. As far as name recognition
goes, Arena’s very own John Mitchell wins that point, and he
produced the CD as well. A fourth assessment: that very same John
Mitchell knows, like no other, how to make guitar oriented songs
sound like they should. The often introspective lyrics illustrate
the more somber side of Rob Sowdens’ psyche, however, it never
really sounds so heavy or sad. It is striking, although not
surprising, to hear the large variety of guitar sounds, whereby
almost every song has its’own sound ‘color’. The keyboards pop into
the scene here and there, but always stay modestly in the
background. This makes the music much more transparent and
atmospheric and offers the listener many more possibilities to enjoy
the diverse facets of Sowdens’ expressive voice. As mentioned
before, the songs are of excellent quality and offer both, subtile
pop guitar lovers, as well as fans of witty rock guitar, value for
their money.
Whoever thinks or hopes he’s going to be treated to a glorified
Arena album is going to feel cheated. But don’t let that be a
reason not to give “Dark Places” from Solar a chance, because this
would be especially unfair to a very talented musician who can
really deliver. An extremely successful debut! |
