Tim Bowness, in the role of vocalist and lyricist for progressive duo No-Man, has amassed a lengthy body of work exploring a wide range of tonalities and approaches. From dancehall electronic pop to subtle ambient movements, his twist on and contributions to Steven Wilson’s music have always been unique. In Henry Fool, however, Bowness takes on a whole other role, nurturing along the King Crimson-esque instrumental compositions with guitar instead of his vocal chords. Specifically, I get major vibes recalling some of the ProjeKct records, as their spacey jams and odd rhythms intermingle in similar ways. On their new release Men Singing, tracks like “Everyone in Sweden” alternate between nearly ambient passages of sax soloing by Myke Clifford and funky outbursts highlighting great interplay between bassist Peter Chilvers and drummer Andrew Booker. The ensemble of players across the record also provide, seemingly, a real mishmash of contributions. Accompanying each track is a list of players, and that list shows the many hats several wear. This approach clearly proves creatively fruitful, as each piece interweaves around small movements, but never feels out of place or jarring. The battle with a large group of musicians is always to enhance the collective rather than trying to give each person their “moment,” so while Stephen Bennett and Phil Manzanera both get guitar solos in the aforementioned “Everyone in Sweden,” neither particularly feels unfitting or sticks out poorly. Of particular mention is also the stellar keyboard work by Jarrod Gosling (and Stephen Bennett and other contributors in the lineup). Every piece is filled by a surrounding atmosphere that takes the jams and compositions to places otherwise less smooth and continuous; the keys mostly act as the glue of the record, allowing Bowness’ guitar riffs to offer their harmonic changes and create the feel of the pieces without needing massive reverbs and delays to create a nice space. Men Singing gets a grand recommendation for fans of the space rock Porcupine Tree records, new millennium King Crimson and its related ProjeKcts, and more general atmospheric rock and post-rock listeners. Review by "Greg MacLean" (http://starsdie.com).
RATING: ????????????
.
RATING: ????????????
.
Nenhum comentário :
Postar um comentário