For all of the progressive rock music fans that might come across this: some of you may well enjoy this Release if you enjoy spacey, layered synth work with repeating male and female vocal harmonies, sometimes blended and sometimes not. if you are looking for some bruising and buzzy guitars look elsewhere, you'll be sorely disappointed.
There have been some especially good and pointed reviews for this album. I agree with Murat Batmaz's review concerning how the fourth song is a good overview of what this album is all about. Also, Lisa 'Lisa' hits the nail on the head when she identifies how this album is built around so much repetition that the songs can easily get lost. I'm going to chip in my few cents By giving this CD a song-by-song review:
1) Aeropause--a promising start to the album. An instrumental piece that is spacey, dreamy, and unhurried. It establishes and rests on a simple, repeated motif.
2) Goshen's Remains--continuing with track 1's musical motif a pretty, soothing female vocal comes in and settles over this track. Deeper male vocals join in eventually and there is a lot of vocal layering and harmonizing.
3) Apprentice of the Universe--male vocals dominate on this song and there is a strong emphasis on repeating harmonies.
4) the Bright Ambassadors of Morning--breaking momentarily from the First three songs, which felt connected, track 4 starts off with outer space noise, cosmic synth pop buzzes, and electronic breezes with ethereal background moans bedding the music. this just shy of 12' song contains several distinct parts, or movements. After the First 3' conclude drums and some familiar electric background guitars crop up and we come back to the male and female harmonizing that characterizes so much of this disc. the song then takes a turn for the worse when, at about 4'30', the male vocal chants the line of 'a million Bright Ambassadors of mo-o-o-orning' for a full 1'40' (the chanting had gone on for Too long at the 40' mark)! Once this movement concludes there is still almost half the song to go and It gets better as It shifts back to a largely instrumental piece of music with a heavy bouncy bass and later bringing the guitar passage back into play. the vocal chant is brought back into the song at the end but, mercifully, It does not go on as long and so fits better into the song.
5) Nimos and Tambos--very similar in style to song 2.
6) Voices in Winter/ in the Realms of the Divine--very similar in style to song 3.
7) Bullitts Dominae--track 7 differentiates itself By adding more energy By way of speed to the song. While not overly quick and certainly not a heavy piece of music the musical melody picks up to a swirl and the vocals are excited; they have more punch.
8) Arrival/ the Intention Craft--a more prominent and therefore heavier guitar effect distinguishes this track from its beginning. Another lengthy song that is again broken up into movements. especially with their longer songs one can break them down into distinct movements that would be like breaking them down into individual songs that would stand on their own. I question why the artists chose to meld their songs into one track for the album release? the sticker affixed to my CD case highlights: 'INCLUDES: the Intention CRAFT'. the Intention Craft is the second movement here in track 8. if It was meant to be a song unto itself (as perhaps It was released without Arrival?) It would be nice to have It as its own track for purposes of making a mixed or 'best of' CD.
9) He Tried to Show them Magic!/ Ambassadors Return--the album ends with music that moves away from a leisurely pace and picks up in tone and intensity. It's a decent ending but wouldn't wake you up if you had fallen asleep. Oh, and lest I forget, that 'ambassadors' chant finds its way back into the CD as part of the fade-out. as the music fades out there is the hiss of the CD still playing and several minutes of dead air pass before a bonus track concludes the album; the final song is, again, very similar in style and tone to track 3.
It is easy to get lost in this CD and not know where you are in it. It is sometimes dreamy, sometimes hypnotic space rock. there are some problems with the music (namely problematic repetitions) and I have no idea what they were singing about (some intergalactic space-war with demi-gods? lyrics are printed for those interested) but I liked it.
Of course, those of you who are familiar with early Pink Floyd will recognize the Floydian references in at least two song titles, Bullets Dominae and Bright Ambassadors of Morning (from the song Echoes). this is not to say that these guys are merely aping Pink Floyd, because they're not at all. the use of male and female vocals gives It distinction from direct comparison. However, don't make the mistake of thinking its Another goth band, which also feature male and female lead vocals. no one singer takes center stage here, both male and female are intertwined, and blend perfectly with each other; both are competant vocalists (no acclimation period required).
Also Used throughout is mass choir vocal sections, whether its actually a mass choir or multi-tracking vocals, its a stunning effect. Couple this with a band that very adept at delicate, etherial sounscaping as well as dramatic, symphonic rock, and you have a spectacular prog album. Amazingly enough, as bombastic as the some musical passages are, It doesn't come across as over-the-top theatrical, like with some similar music (Nightwish comes to mind), rather It remains quite organic sounding.
This album is a throwback to a time when An album was An artistic statement, when album flow and feel was as important as the musical contents. fans of Porcupine Tree or any other Steve Wilson project might find this their cup of tea. any fan of early Pink Floyd should like this as well. this isn't a band in search of a 'sound', they come across as a band who are playing music they feel. the only question now is how on earth will they follow this stunning debut. Highly recommended.
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PRR aren't scared of their progressive side. if they were they wouldn't have written a conceptually-linked album of multipart, segued songs about dreaming. Neither, However, are they scared to write short pop songs which feature gnarly riffs straight out of the grunge era, nifty keyboard tricks from the cooler neighbourhoods of dance, dub-inspired bass lines, and multi-part harmonies that recall 60s west coast pop. the result is An album that has a great sense of swooping drama that takes the listener through the veil of sleep into the land of Morpheus and eventually out the other side as a triumphant dawn breaks. the ear is constantly engaged and enthralled By the inventive melodies that weave through the album and insistent musical and lyrical themes add to the thrill of the journey.
For a debut album, the scope and ambition are breathtaking. that Pure Reason Revolution manage to achieve a result that fulfils that vision suggests this is a band whose future is writ large.