PARADISE OUT OF TIME

I was supposed to get their latest release, Island Noises, which was much praised by a friend of mine of the ProgBrasil forum page. According to him it is a double concept album of sorts. But Paradise Out Of Time,. released an year before, was the only one I could get a hold of, so I took my chances with it. So I was surprised of how much melodic and conventional this album showed it to be when I heard it. Not much symphonic prog here, in fact. Mostly song oriented prog rock. And - in that vein - they are quite good.

Poor Genetic Material has quite a consistent discography (8 albums so far) and I don´t know it this one really represents their best stuff. However, I found the music inside to be pleasant, although nothing here stands out that much. Nice melodies and an excellent singer (Phil Griffiths , also Alias Eye) are their strong points. The instrumental part of the CD is also very good, although a bit subdue. Production is not that great either. Guest member Oliver Berger (violin) gives a slightly folky color to several tracks. Highlights are the longest songs, Out Of time and the closer My Other Life. Both are over 7 minutes and more energetic and original than the others. Both are also good examples of how far they can go if they persue that direction

After repeated spins I´m more intrigued than actually pleased with this album. It certainly shows a band with lots of potential, but still not quite there. maybe with a more dynamic production things could be much improved. I´m looking forward to hear more of their works, specially Island Noises.

Rating: something between 2.5 and 3 stars.

The season cycle was not the only spell broken by this POOR GENETIC MATERIAL album. During at least the previous three albums (I have not heard Summerland as of this writing), this group distilled their dynamic philosophy around composition and the design of an unabridged work. In contrast, "Paradise out of Time" is more structured and far less demanding than its antecedents.

The 9 tracks herein are more like conventional guitar oriented AOR with a few dashes of neo prog. Unfortunately, rather than triumph by understatement, the album generally lacks enthusiasm in its tight lipped insistence on adhering to conventional rhythms and structures. Even with PHIL GRIFFITHS accomplished singing, I'm not sure this would do much for me in isolation. However, this is not a JADIS album as much as it sometimes sounds like one, and prior accomplishments justify more attention to "Paradise out of Time" in spite of itself.

While I can't say the other shoe dropped completely, something did "click" over time, in the opener, the catchy "New Phase", reminiscent of early 1980s RAMSES, the atypically long "Out of Time", the initially spacey and later majestic "Starlightbound" and especially the closer "My Other LIfe", wherein Oliver Berger's violin freshens and enlivens the sound, and the guitar licks work wonders. In contrast, I was moved neither by routine rockers like "the Key" or "Citizen Cyclops", nor by ballads like "Paradise" or Holy Ground", which uncomfortably recall nondescript Christiant rock in feel even if they thankfully avoid lyrical cliches. I might add that this has always been a strength of the group. It marks my first experience with PGM tracks that I would rather skip than hear.

Since PGM has done so much better, I would not recommend this album as an entry point to their world, but would reserve this ironically earthbound work to committed fans or those who enjoy undemanding generally melodic rock with a low progressive quotient. 2.75 stars.