Record Reviews

GODSTICKS ~ SPIRAL VENDETTA NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 793573731616) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 2010 Released: 2010 Superb debut album by British Prog trio GodsticksFind albums by this artist which consists of vocalist / guitarist / keyboardist Darran CharlesFind albums by this artist, who also wrote all the band’s music (with some help from the drummer), bassist Bryan BellerFind albums by this artist and drummer / keyboardist Steve RobertsFind albums by this artist, which is definitely one of the most surprising releases on the British Prog scene lately. They play a complex, yet wonderfully coherent modern Prog with some traces of the glorious past but mostly completely original and unique. It is heartwarming to see these relatively young musicians displaying such maturity and professionalism, both as composers and performers. This music is as complex as King CrimsonFind albums by this artist late efforts, with layers of vocal harmonies and instrumentation superimposed one on top of another, but the overall effect sounds effortless and comprehensible even to a less experienced listener. The usage of odd rhythmic patterns adds another dimension to the music’s zest, with traces of RIO and even some Scandinavian Prog, which goes to prove that Prog (as all music) knows no geographical boundaries any more. This album is in fact the band’s second release, with an EP released a year earlier, which is also quite excellent. It seems that this band is definitely going places, and with such splendid kick off they are surely worth watching. Wholeheartedly recommended!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

MACIEJ STANIECKI ~ SPIRALS ALPAKA 020 (Barcode: 3663734142902) ~ POLAND ~ Electronic & Ambient Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is a solo guitar / electronics album by Polish guitarist / composer Maciej StanieckiFind albums by this artist. It presents eleven tracks, presumably composed by Staniecki, all named “Spiral” with a number added. The album’s artwork gives no information about dates of recording and seems to be as minimalist as the music. Staniecki has been active on the local scene since the 1990s and released several albums as well as composed music for several Polish movies and theater shows and is a prolific music producer. His musical orientation seems to be multi-disciplinary / multi-genre. I am only familiar with the album “Two SoulsFind albums with this title” recorded with Polish Jazz trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist. I liked that album, as my review shows, but this solo outing is a different case. The music on this album is completely abstract, almost completely devoid of melody, continuity and rhythm, which personally leaves me completely cold, but I can appreciate the aesthetics behind it. The minimalism is quite typical of contemporary Polish music scene, which seems to find escapism from the horrific non-Culture that surround us all by concentrating on saying as little as possible. Although guitar is audible, one can hardly call this a guitar album in the conventional meaning of the term. Overall, this is an Ambient / Electronic album, which fans of the genre might find interesting, but anybody outside that sphere will find weird / uninviting and probably boring. To each his own…

Updated: 12/05/2022Posted: 12/05/2022

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

HIROMI UEHARA ~ SPIRAL TELARC 83631 (Barcode: 089408363122) ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2005 Released: 2005 3rd album by this award winning and sensational Japanese pianist Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist. Hiromi keeps again to the piano trio format, but expands the horizons of what we know as jazz, by approaching the "orchestral" sound of the trio, especially in the almost 30 minutes long 4 piece suite called "Music for Three-Piece-Orchestra". The entire album consists of her original compositions, which are fascinating and enchanting, as usual. Her virtuoso performance breaks again the know limits of what is considered as humanly possibile on the piano. There are no words to express how good this music is, honestly! Limited edition includes superb 5.1 DTS DVD

CD+DVD 2 Audiophile Recommend To A Friend