WIPPY BONSTACK

I like this album a lot. The word eclectic certainly comes to mind. And I also want to call it a deliciously fresh and playful record.

I don't see it as something groundbreaking though.

Dancing with the monks - A nice and catchy start to the album. Well played and well produced with some quirks here and there. But in the end, it is rather straightforward. 7/10

Ambitions is one of the tracks that I enjoy most. I like the great guitar soloing. It's one of the most proggy pieces on the album 8.5/10

Shadow Soaked is an up-tempo quirky song. Well played but rather straightforward at the end 7/10

Going is a song that ebbs and flows nicely. But again, nothing special or groundbreaking in my book 7/10

Scientific Candy is another nice track. Enjoyable to listen to, but never challenging or inciting (for me) 7/10

Beautiful Stain is where I start to see some repetitiveness on the record. Not bad, but also not special 7/10T

Insatiable is more interesting than many other tracks on the album. 8/10

Collapsed spirit has some great elements like the guitar and key solos. They lift the song to a higher level. 8/10

Wezler's choice is a nice closer but also a bit repeating the musical themes of earlier tracks 7/10

All in all, this is a solid record and I rate it 3 stars. Good, not non-essential.

Wow! What a songwriting tour de force! This very busy New York-based artist, multi-instrumentalist Ben Coniguliaro, is involved in several projects all at the same time including, Sun ColoredChair, Wyxz, and In-Dreamview. And then there is this, his solo baby. Wow!

1. "Dancing with the Monks" (3:19) (8.75/10)

2. "Ambitions" (4:08) an impressive guitar-on-display song. (8.75/10)

3. "Shadow Soaked" (3:55) I hear quite a bit of Roddy Frame (AZTEC CAMERA) and Andy Partridge (XTC, DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR) in this song--and not just vocally or lyrically. (9/10)

4. "Going" (5:03) What?! This whispy, slowed down song is not what I've come to expect. But it speeds up with some very nice acoustic guitar work so that Ben can continue to impress with his amazing vocal deliveries. Again I am so reminded of both Andy Partridge and Roddy Frame with many elements of this song. (9/10)

5. "Scientific Candy" (3:20) another song that starts out as a very pleasant acoustic guitar-driven melodic ballad ramps up a bit with the addition of the rest of the rock band instruments. Ben's vocals are mixed a little bit too far in the back for my tastes. A very pleasant, melodic song that has some similarities, according to my ears, to the music of classic rock bands like Todd Rundgren, America, and Ambrosia. (8.875/10)

6. "Beautiful Stain" (4:10) opens so much like a The DECEMBERISTS song but it also reminds me a ton of Georgia guitar god Jared Leach on his 2016 one-off GHOST MEDICINE project, Discontinuance. A very solid song composition-- surprisingly mature and subtly complex--that should/could get radio air play. (8.875/10)

7. "Insatiable " (4:48) more music that reminds me of the amazing vocal talents of Roddy Frame as well as those of jazz-pop singer-songwriter MICHAEL FRANKS and Swedish singer-songwriter Fredrik Larsson (FREDDEGREDDE). I don't much like the drum sounds here, and, again, the voice seems mixed a bit too far back in the mix, while the guitars are recorded and mixed to sublime perfection. (I really LOVE hearing guitars recorded this well!) (8.785/10)

8. "Collapsed Spirit" (5:11) though I never think of this song as my favorite on this lovely album, it contains the most unavoidable earworms on the album; once I've heard this song it's hours before I can get it out of my head! Melodically, it is so wonderful on so many levels. Instrumentally, there's some playing here that's on the level of GENTLE GIANT (compositionally, as well). And then there's the incredible lyric and perfect vocal performance used to delivery it. Amazing. Such an amazing progressive rock song. Kt may, in fact, be perfection. It may, in fact, be the song of the year! (10/10)

9. "Wezler's Choice" (2:55) great music with an unusual one-line vocal that is repeated intermittently throughout the song" I don't have a choice ? but you do." Again the music reminds me of Jared Leach's GHOST MEDICINE. (9.25/10)

Ben "Wippy Bonstack" Coniguliaro seems to have one speed when playing, composing, practicing, performing, and singing, and that's full speed; everything about the music in these songs is fast, in hyperdrive: the guitar playing first and foremost but also the keys, bass, drums and percussion, as well as the amazing vocal deliveries of the often- complex/dense lyrics. In this latter aspect (as well as with many of his compositions) I am greatly reminded of two of my favorite songwriter-singers of all-time: Roddy Frame and Andy Partridge--(though Ben is far more fluid and melodic with his voice deliveries than Andy).

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of sophisticated crossover progressive rock music that should be an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection. I'm so glad (and, I must admit, surprised) that this wonderful band is present here on PA as it could also be taken as too Indie rock or even poppy, despite the complex song structures and virtuosic instrumental performances.

Wippy Bonstack is the solo project of songwriter/composer Ben Coniguliaro and he is back with his second solo release. And what a release it is. If you're tired of bands that prefer to write similar music over and over, Wippy is for you. If you believe "back in my day" was the only time good music existed, Wippy is for you. If you want to progress and expand your musical horizons with some challenging modern music that pushes boundaries, Wippy is for you. The best word that describes this 37-minute album is - FUN. Loaded with jaw dropping musicianship throughout, "Ambitions" knocks my socks off with its Mike Keneally vibe. "Shadow Soaked" and "Scientific Candy" come armed with upbeat infectious grooves make me want to dance, and I don't like to dance. For those that don't know, Wippy plays most all instruments and provides reverb drenched vocals with a charming timbre that fits this music perfectly. The only negative comment I have is that no physical copies of this or his first release are offered. Darn it! Anyway, easy 4.5 stars rounded up. Rock on Wippy. I guess the album title "22" is because it was released on November 22, 2022?

Ben Coniguliaro, the man behind Wippy Bonstack, is no stranger in the world of math rock, having already made a name for himself since 2016 as a contributor and member of the experimental indie rock duo Mud Moths, the heavy brutal prog group Wyxz and various math rock formations such as In-Dreamview and Sun Colored Chair. Wippy Bonstack's Dataland, his first solo album released under his current alias, combines elements of all of these projects and more and succeeds in being his most beautiful and diverse work thus far. While the album remains mostly grounded in math rock's indie-based timbre its influences are obviously more eclectic, even though listening to any single song on its own might not necessarily give it away. The opening "Multi Mystery Knot" is probably one's best bet for a quintessential track on this album, serving more or less as a multi-part overture that features a number of melodies that are restated in later tracks, a variety of moods and stellar instrumental performances on guitar, piano and marimba, Coniguliaro's lead instruments of choice.

However, you'd do yourself a great service listening to what comes afterwards too, because the album's main quirk doesn't become apparent until the second track, "Wippy's Headwound", which starts off as a highly off-kilter and freaked out distorted organ toccata before its surprisingly effective catharsis turns out to be its transformation into a comparatively normal but undeniably catchy guitar-led rock song (with a cute little bossa nova section near the end). Most of the vocal tracks on the album follow a similar formula, seamlessly switching between catchy choruses and complex, ever changing instrumental sections, ending up with music that is somehow simultaneously progressive and complicated, and yet instantly memorable and easily enjoyable.

Leave it to Coniguliaro for example to bookend a slowcore anthem with a labyrinthine Zappa-ish piano rock section full of multiplying tuplets and changing meters ("Day Fluke", "Goodbye Evil"), have a pop punk shuffle be constantly interrupted by quintuplets ("Stigma Sauce"), or, on the closing "You Might Win", intersperse a heavy prog section with gratuitous bass slapping into a moody minor-key strummed guitar song before fading it out with the same melancholic G-major coda as the opening track. Even the songs that aren't as multifaceted, such as the short jazzy instrumental "Yield 'N' Pan", the mildly grungey "Spazz O'Clock", the folkish "Nimble Knot" and the lovely Wyatty pop song "Puzzle Pieces" are all a joy to hear, and add all the more to this amazing journey through a loving marriage of the accessible and the weird. Highly recommended for fans of Bubblemath, Cardiacs or Mike Keneally.

Sorry but i can't stop from thinking about the classic Allman Brothers song "Whippin' Post" when i try to say the name of this artist! Ha! WIPPY BONSTACK may sound like a whipped Jack who climbed a beanstalk and ended up in some giant's living room and to be honest i have no friggin idea where this moniker came from but in the world of prog, especially avant-garde anything friggin goes prog, i say - who friggin cares!!!!

OK, this project is one more in the ever-expanding career of the talented whippersnapper named Ben Coniguliaro of Sun Colored Chair, Wyxz and In-Dreamview fame. Well, fame within the world of demented prog lovers that is! Yeah, this guy has the chops, has the curiosity of what came before and how to apply it to today's fusionary standards. He is also one of the youngest artists working in the prog realm at the moment and it's cool to hear some newer talent keeping the torch burning for some of prog's greatest heroes who are no longer with us.

Whatever the case, ole Ben boy really is talented and knows how to take prog history and delivery it in a sort of "Name That Tune" sorta way! No he's not a plagiarist but rather deftly re-interprets styles of yore and crafts them in a completely different way. He has a knack for the avant-prog angularities of the most technically minded artists ranging from Zappa to the Canterbury gymnastics of Hatfield & the North but also keeps things a bit more contemporary but offering math rock, indie rock and art pop in his smorgasbord du jour.

Brand spankin' new off the digital press is WIPPY's debut release titled WIPPY BONSTACK'S DATALAND and it is chock filled with proggy yumminess so eclectic that you simply have to contain yourself since this is like the prog equivalent of Everclear and you just might get drunk! So this is basically a one man project with WIPPY BONSTACK playing electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, bass, piano, vocals, keyboards, analog synth, glockenspiel, melodica, marimba, vibraphone, percussion. The name of the game here is that the instrumental parts blow you away but unfortunately the vocals need a bit more work for my tastes.

This is a looooong album. Almost 69 minutes worth of jittery prog workouts mostly guitar based and primarily engaging in spastic Zappa-esque avant-prog and jazzy Canterbury nerdiness. Yeah, this is only for proggers who REALLY love things to enter the Freakazoid Zone but hey, who else has the gonads to just let their freak flag fly these days? Seems to many are just trying to woo the lowest common denominator. Thank the prog gods for the WIPPYs out there who just do what they want and let the chips fall where they will. Granted this is not the newest prog masterpiece or even some revolutionary fusion of styles that will become popular in 40 years after everyone "gets it."

No, this is just fun prog where a prog musician simply does what he wants and displays all his strengths and warts in a single listening experience. It seems there are a lot of one-man bands out there but they tend to exist in the metal world whether they be neoclassical virtuoso guitarists or black metal introverts. Prog one-man bands seem to be more of a rarity although many such gifted artists decorate themselves with supporting musicians. This album features 13 tracks, each stacked with heavy duty prog workouts however it also has some vocal oriented tracks such as one of my least favorites on "S.l.R." Yeah, WIPPY has mastered the art of instrumentation but the vocal tracks don't appeal to my sensibilities.

All in all this is a fascinating debut! WIPPY really has done his diligence in bringing the past prog splendor to the modern world. His guitar antics are exceptional and the compositions are brilliantly composed. This is probably one of the best examples that i've heard where avant-prog angularities and Canterbury jazz commingle flawlessly. Unfortunately i just can't get past the vocal parts which are awful! For some reason this album makes me think of Ween's "The Pod" which was a mix of genius and not so greatness. For a debut album i'm impressed but i would've really preferred if this was instrumental in all honesty. Go WIPPY!

3.5 but i'll round up for the freak factor!