FÖLD ÉS ÉG

The heavy presence of the piano that made ‘Overground Music’ so enjoyable is back on ‘Föld És Ég’. The previous ‘Megalázottak és Megszomorítottak’ was a great progression for the band in terms of the broader use of stringed and brass instrumentation and some longer compositions, but one of the things that really attracted me to After Crying in the first place was the melodic and classical bent of the piano arrangements, and those were few and far between on ‘Megalázottak és Megszomorítottak’.

Not the case here, as the first sounds of the opening “Manticore Érkezése I” and some of the last notes of the closing “Kétezer Év” are Vedres Csaba’s energetic fingers on his keys, and the sound is like music to my ears. Oh, I guess that is literally true – never mind.

“Manticore Érkezése” I and II remind me just a bit of Ekseption, and maybe even Carnegie the way the piano makes this sound like classical music with a little modern kick to it, and Pejtsik Péter’s synthesizer gives an added boost to these two very buoyant compositions. The light and spacious “Cisz-Dór Koncertetüd” is basically a piano recital, and “Rondo” is also centered on mostly piano, this one with a bit of a ragtime feel to it.

The band is clearly finding their groove by now as well, with a much extended collection of songs compared to their first two rather short studio albums. This one clocks in at more than an hour, and the most of the band’s next several albums and compilations will all range from over seventy minutes to more than two hours.

The band’s fondness for chamber chorals is evident here once again, with tracks like “Enigma”, “Leltár”, and “Kétezer Év” being heavily structured around these harmonies.

One surprise is Torma Ferenc on guitar, an instrument that was non-existent on the band’s previous two albums. But the acoustic guitar on “Zene Gitárra” where the guitar complements the ever-present bird sounds to make for a relaxing interlude between the longer and more symphonic tracks, and the guitars in general play a fairly minor role on the rest of the album.

But the brass is strangely subdued on this album. I say strangely because the band made such an effort to feature their various horns on the last album. The two exceptions are the almost spiritual “Puer Natus in Betlehem” and, to a lesser extent “Júdás”, where the trumpet plays a key role, but that’s about the only brass to be found on this album.

The only drawback I can hear on this album is on “Bár Éjszaka Van” with its long spoken- word passages that are pretty much lost on anyone who doesn’t speak Hungarian, and especially since there is very little instrumentation behind the vocals except a bit of cello, piano, and the sporadic drums.

This is another After Crying album I find to be soothing, introspective, and very, very well-constructed. I should probably take the time to delve into the lyrics a bit more at some point, but actually I’m so relaxed right now listening to it that I really can’t be bothered. I’m actually having trouble just finding the energy to tap this out on the keyboard. In fact, I think I’ll restart the album right now and play it through again while I sit on the porch and enjoy the cool spring rain. You go get this album and try it yourself – it’s well worth it. Four stars.

peace