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No, your
eyes don’t deceive you, I have put “The Gathering” as genre for this
album. I can’t compare them to anyone else. They have created a sound,
which has grown from album to album. A sound, that reaches its maturity
on this CD “Souvenirs”. A maturity that has been helped by their
independence as they have their own label now. If you really insist to
have a name of another band as reference, maybe the closest match is
Porcupine Tree. Especially the built-up of the songs points in the same
direction. Every song is an emotion, a feeling that grows without any
verses or choruses. They call it trip rock. Hans Rutten gave the
definition “soundscape” to some of their songs that could be movie
soundtracks, with a psychedelic touch. It’s the sequel of “How To
Measure A Planet” and their last EP “Black Light District”, but
stronger, with more emotion, veiled in a dark mysterious, omnipresent
sphere. Although they say that it’s not a concept album, I would almost
dare say that it is. Not a concept album with a story, but the music
itself is a concept.
It’s not
an easy album, it takes a long time to get into it, but it’s worth the
effort.
The voice of Anneke has also matured a lot, which doesn’t mean that she
wasn’t good on previous albums, but she sounds superb now, with a lot of
emotion and a lot of variation in her voice.
When you listen to the songs the first time, it seems as if Anneke is
singing another song as the musicians, but it all fits together when you
get to know the songs. It’s this “not following the instruments” that
makes her stand in front so much. She’s always audible and
understandable.
The musicians are almost never in front to perform a solo, but they are
all building on this sound. All their sounds are glued together in a
perfect way.
The first
song “These Good People” is already one of the best. Some perfect,
high-pitched vocals, that bring the name Carmel to my mind, are the main
ingredient for this catchy track. The piano and some reversed rhythmic
sounds are the other important building stones.
“Even The Spirits Are Afraid” is built around a complex rhythm.
“Broken Glass” was already in an acoustic version on the “Black Light
District” EP, but this electric touch to the song beats it by far. Great
song.
Some “spacey” effect on the voice of Anneke makes you dream away with
the slower track “You Learn About It”.
This dreamy feeling is taken over by the guitar on the next track
“Souvenirs”, my favourite of the album. Especially the middle piece is
sung in a nonchalant way, the best I heard from Anneke.
“Monsters” is the most up-tempo song, without loosing the overall
feeling of the CD. Great stuff.
The lyrics for the psychedelic “Where Do We Go From Here” are written by
Zlaya Hadzich, the producer who did such a great job on “Souvenirs”.
There’s
only one negative remark. The whole album is a bit slow, and you keep on
waiting for something to happen that doesn’t really come.
The promo only contains 8 songs, so I can’t tell you anything about the
other two tracks. Maybe the explosion is hidden in these two. A pity I
didn’t hear the eagerly awaited “A Life All Mine” featuring Trickster G,
of which Anneke and Hans had such promising words during
their interview. There’s only
one way to find out, buy “Souvenirs”.
Some of you will say that this is not a progressive rock
(although you can certainly call it progressive) album, but I know that
a lot of progrock fans like The Gathering. The fans of the earlier
Gathering will find it difficult to adapt, but the band will certainly
convince some new fans with this masterpiece. |
