ART CINEMA

"Art Cinema" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by Danish progressive rock/jazz-rock act Art Cinema. Art Cinema is a project band featuring a couple of Denmarks more prolific musicians in Robin Taylor (Taylor's Universe, Taylor's Free Universe and solo) and Michael Denner (Mercyful Fate, Zoser Mez, King Diamond, Force of Evil). Art Cinema came into being while Denner participated in the recording of "Soundwall" (2008) by Taylor´s Universe. Denner and Taylor started working on some compositions written by Denner´s friend Jesper Harrits and decided that a female voice would suit the compositions best. They brought in Jytte Lindberg to perform the lead vocals while Louise Nipper sings the backing vocals on the album. The lineup also features a saxophonist, a second guitarist, a bassist, and most notably Mercyful Fate drummer Bjarne T. Holm.

The music is sophisticated and light jazzy pop/rock. The overall mood is very dark and Jytte Lindberg´s jazzy vocals really fit the music perfectly. The saxophone parts sometimes remind me of Van der Graaf Generator. With the presence of two members (one is an ex-member though) of Mercyful Fate I expected something a bit heavier but this album is not a heavy metal album by any means and the only times when I think of Mercyful Fate is during the few solos Michael Denner plays in the albums very short (34:31 minutes) playing time. Most notably on album opener "White Frozen" and the powerful "What Am I Doing Here?" I just love his melodic and distinct sounding solo style. There´s lots of piano on the songs too performed by Robin Taylor.

The musicianship on the album is excellent. Great performances all around. Jytte Lindberg has a different voice from what you´d expect from a female lead singer in a progressive rock band (Read: Renaissance, Curved Air) as she sings in a lower register and with a jazzy flavour. The production which is crafted by Robin Taylor is very well sounding. Warm, detailed, and clean.

The album was produced and released without any kind of financial support, as written on the sleeve of the very sparse booklet and unfortunately tells a lot about the Danish music culture/scene. If there weren´t adventurous and skilled musicians like Robin Taylor and Michael Denner to push this kind of music forward, very little experimental music would come out of Denmark. "Art Cinema" is upon conclusion a very enjoyable and dark album featuring many high quality moments and features. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.