NIGHT

My first encounter with Gazpacho occurred during Marillion's Marbles-tour here in Stockholm, Sweden. Although I didn't particularly like the release Marillion was promoting I still went to see the show just to experience their live performance. The supporting band Gazpacho didn't make much of an impression on me at the time but I think that their equipment was primarily to blame for that. The concert hall itself was also one of the more peculiar arenas which is rarely used for music performances.

Since I was really into Radiohead at the time I basically wrote off the band as another one of Radiohead clones without giving them a proper chance. That decision might have worked for Gazpacho's first three albums but once they started getting the most positive reviews in their semi-professional careers with the release of Night I stopped being stubborn and decided to enter their domain.

What I heard on this release was a much more matured band and although the Radiohead influences were still present Gazpacho had now an identity of their own! I could trace a few influences from the Norwegian music scene, especially bands like Motorpsycho, which spiced up their flavor and made the band a front runner of the scene.

Dream of Stone is an atmospheric opener that initially felt like it had a few more secrets to reveal upon repeated listens but that was unfortunately not so. A pity but the praise is still non-the-less justified considering the band's definite signs of growth. Upside Down on the other hand did manage to improve over time and is in my opinion the definite highlight in terms of the consistency offered during it's 10 minutes running time.

Overall it didn't take long for Night to grow on me and I'm basically of the same opinion of it as I was after 4-5 times I heard it. The sheer beauty of development these compositions undergo is well worth the time investment. Still I think that Gazpacho has a lot of undiscovered potential left in them so it will be interesting to follow them toward their ultimate career highlight!

***** star songs: Upside Down (9:41)

**** star songs: Dream Of Stone (17:00) Chequered Light Buildings (6:34) Valerie's Friend (6:29) Massive Illusion (13:37)