POOR GENETIC MATERIAL: Spring tidings

Cover	Release	Style
	2006	progressive rock
	Label
	http://www.quixote-music.de
	Website
	http://www.poorgeneticmaterial.de
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	50:37	QXT CD 35
	Review by	Rating
	Claude	8/10
nederlands	Review
German Poor Genetic Material’s ‘Spring Tidings’ is the last part of their four seasons epos, ‘Summerland’ already being released in 2001. The quality of their previous albums was not always of the same level, but I was really curious if spring would give them enough inspiration. And indeed, this is probably one of their best efforts, without being revolutionary or spectacular. Although it was not really intended to set up a project over a period of 5 years, this band always seems to have great ambitions, this year we might expect a singer-songwriter album and a double album. The recepe of Poor Genetic Material remains the same, good neo progressive rock with a lot of ambient influences and soundscapes. Philip Griffits is really an excellent singer, he sound a bit as a mix of Gary Chandler (Jadis) and Michael Sadler (Saga). With his melancholic but powerful voice he has a great contribution to the overall sound of the band. ‘Three Steps back’ sets the tone immediately with a Brian Eno-like ambient introduction, followed by an airy guitar solo. ‘Blow up’ is decent neo prog with that typical and recognizable voice of Griffits. But the link to is mostly present in ‘April’, vocally as well as instrumentally. A lot of choirs are added (like good old Pallas) and there is a strong interaction between keyboards (Hammond, synthesizers) and guitar. ’Watercolours’ is clearly one of the better compositions, the ambient start, supported by a recorder, gives you the feeling of the awakening of nature on an early morning in spring. When the tempo rises later on, you get a progressive piece of work with synthesizer patterns, choirs, tempo and mood changes and a lot of varied guitar playing (from swinging to jazzy). On ‘Tidings’ I had David Bowie in mind, probably through the lyrics ‘I am sitting in my nutshell’, but even musically there are some comparisons with ‘Space Oddity’. ‘La ville’ is the longest track of the album and proves yet again that Poor Genetic Material really delivers fine progressive rock, the instrumental parts remind of Alan Parsons as well as the Swedish progressive school (Grand Stand and Galleon). The new drummer has been integrated very smoothly and even sounds a bit better than his predecessor. ‘Spring Tidings’ is a proper end of the project, it is not renovating but within neo progressive rock the band has certainly a place to defend, hopefully they hold enough genetic material to surprise the world on their next album.
Musicians
Phil Griffiths : vocals Stefan Glomb : guitars Philipp Jaehne : keyboards Dennis Sturm : bass Dominik Steinbacher : drums
Tracklist
Three Steps Back...(2:22) Blow-Up (4:04) April (6:56) Watercolours (9:30) Tidings (6:25) La ville qui n`existait pas (10:29) Lotus-Eaters (6:57) Or Right Ahead (3:50)


Beekstraat 1 - B-2640 Mortsel - Belgium