BRAVO

Impressive attempt for a first, debut album, melodies are colourful and voice and instrumental backing up is highly profiency. Confident with its lines, dont get lose in endless and fruitless variations, however progressive rock is their sign. On every song you feel a comfortable listening, in a familiar ground, never disapointed and always challenged. Beautiful .

Bravo is the first album from Norwegian band Gazpacho. They are big fans of Marillion but aim to develop a sound of their own.

Desert. The album starts strongly with this song. Acoustic 'Spanish' guitars lead the song before being joined by rock guitar, synths and a drum machine. Jan Ohme's vocals are strong and show an impressive range. Time signatures change and then move back again. The song somehow builds it's sound towards the climax and shows that the band are willing to experiment to obtain the sound the want! A good catchy start with enough interest to make you want to listen to the rest. There's even an electronic treatment to some of the vocals. The only thing missing is a guitar solo! They sound like a mixture of Depeche Mode and Muse. This must be largely due to the vocal style and the drum machine!

Sea Of Tranquility starts very differently but again the drum machine is very evident. This song is definitely lead by the soaring vocals of Jan Ohme who has a much more pure voice than Muse's Matthew Bellamy of Marillion's Steve Hogarth The song builds gradually and you will find yourself singing along after a couple of listens.

Nemo starts very differently and quickly becomes a mid tempo song again lead by a soundscape backdrop for some beautiful vocals. The chorus becomes a more lively affair and again will have you singing along after a couple of listens. Very uplifting!

Ghost is another moody slice of music. Piano and synths form the backdrop to delicate and lush vocals before another catchy chorus has you singing along again. The drums sound much better on this track but no one is credited on the sleeve notes so this may be clever programming by the band!

California starts as a guitar lead song before organs take over. The song is very much vocal lead with Ohme's strong singing leading another catchy chorus. There is a short keyboard solo about two thirds of the way into the song which gives a repeat appearance towards the end.

The Secret has a strong beat sound with discordant piano backing to a surprisingly breathy vocal performance. This song again features a good chorus hook which will again have people singing along. Saying that, it is a song that requires repeat listening and would perhaps be a bit too challenging to the casual listener. This song perhaps best displays Gazpacho's ability to experiment with style and sound to achieve the desired effect overall. The end of the song becomes very harsh.

Sun God. The Drum machine is firmly in evidence again for this song which starts with moody vocals again. The song builds up several times before going back to the quiet verses. Overall a good song but it could have been lifted into great status by a well placed guitar solo.

Mesmer starts softly before becoming a loud aggressive piece. The vocals are distorted and remain so for the whole of the song. Despite this, there is still a catchy hook in there! The drum machine is again evident and this song could have been much better with a real drummer! Not bad but not the best thing here. Saying that, it does show that the band can turn their hand to a harsher sound if they desire.

Novgorod. After the previous track this is a welcome relief! Soft synths and Ohme's delicate vocals begin the song before the drum machine joins in and the bass runs constantly at the back to give the song some pace. Esther Valentine joins in the song vocally and gives a good counterpoint to Ohmes singing. She then takes centre stage and lifts this song to another level altogether. Lush background vocals give a great canvas for her crystal clear singing. She sounds very much like the singer from Evanescence and give this track a haunting quality. The only fault would be that perhaps it goes on about 30 second too long.

Ease Your Mind Starts with Ohme's clear vocal and an acoustic guitar. This song is a gem and would be a great crowd pleaser live! Building slowly into an almost epic sound, and again showing the bands ability to build soundscapes.

Bravo is the last track and at 6.38 it is the longest. Piano, vocals and drum machine start out giving this song another moody feel before the guitars join in. About half way through things get a little lively before moving back to a piano interlude and then the song builds again with beautiful soundscapes being constructed out of synths, sting, guitar and bass. Running through is still the drum machine! There are lots of little touches of sounds before a violin breaks out into a solo! This again proves that whilst the band will experiment to get what they want. And just when you think you've heard all the surprises, a flute joins the violin! Then the guitar comes to the fore just as the crowd gives it's appreciation - literally. And just like that it's over!

If you like Depeche Mode's gloom laden pop or Muse's overblown Neo prog, or Marillions intricate soundscapes you will find something to like on this very accomplished debut album. It is also a grower but it does have it's faults. The drum machine should be replaced by a real drummer and a guitar solo here and there would improve the overall package. Despite these faults this is a superb album and comes highly recommended.

Bravo indeed!

Following an extended EP taster, Norwegians Gazpacho released this their first album in 2003. Most of the tracks from the EP ("Get it while it's cold") were remixed and/or remastered and included on the album.

The band's music draws in influences ranging from RADIOHEAD and MUSE to the softer side of Hogarth era MARILLION (they have supported Marillion on tour and are now signed to their label). The music is not particularly complex, with any semblance of neo- prog being brief and superficial. There are no extended instrumentals or even solos, the album being very vocal with distinct pop overtones. The underlying progressive influences however make the music difficult to categorise. The atmosphere is generally understated sometimes sounding like JAPAN attempting to rock out a bit.

"Sea of Tranquillity" has a very effective quivering vocal by Jan H. Ohme a fine singer by any standard. On tracks such as "Sun god", and "Ease your mind" there are real similarities with the more melodic side of Radiohead, such as on their "Nice dream" and "The tourist". "Ease your mind" benefits from a generally more progressive structure and feel, all the while retaining the strong melodies which characterise the album. The band occasionally reveal their harder side, such as on "Mesmer" which features distorted vocals and a very powerful bass line. Here there are echoes of U2's darker side.

The strange title "Novgorod" disguises a highly poetic lyric describing a rather disturbing tale. The closing (title track) appears to be following the template of the album as a whole, until a Celtic section pops up midway, out of place but effective.

In all, a fine debut album which shows Gazpacho to be a highly competent outfit, both in terms of composition and performance. The fact that album was almost entirely developed by the band and their "friends" without any major backing is testimony to their significant potential.

The entire album is currently available to sample via the band's website on a limited play or purchase basis. Good move calling the band Gazpacho too, instead of the English translation "Cold soup".

I was not really impressed with the first EP from the band (you can read my review of it for more details if you like). Six out of the seven songs featured there are taken over into this album: the only one to have been dropped is Delete Home which one of my fave together with Sea Of Tranquillity.

The added tracks are the excellent opener Desert which has a definite Muse taste, especially in the vocals but not only. It starts with some Spanish acoustic guitar (maybe to justify their name Gazpacho). It is kicking out nicely and surpassed any of their tracks from Get It While It's Cold. It is a great start for this album and by far my favourite song from this album.

There are very little differences between the tracks released on their previous EP and the versions available on this debut album. Still, Nemo is another good song which is heading the same Muse direction again. The music gets heavier during a short instrumental part but it is mainly a melodic pop song. But it is a good one.

California is another one of the new songs available and it follows the same pattern as Nemo but in a more dynamic way. These additions are really helpful since they break the mellowish aspects of their work (Sea Of Tranquillity, Sun God, or Bravo).

It is all the same about Mesmer which is on the heavy side. But it is less inspired and noisier. To overcome this, the melodic and plaintive Novgorod does its job even if the sampling background sounds are not so welcome.

This full release is slightly better than their initial EP, mainly thanks to a couple of great songs. Three stars.

I first bought Night.Yes with that first majestuous song so strong and emotive. Then i got Bravo. If Gazpacho was to appear before Radiohead and Coldplay most of the listeners and reviewers should have said that Gazpacho is better than those bands ,but unfortunately those bands appeared first and with very solid works. The influences of RH and CPlay are obvious (nearer Radiohead i must say because of the dramatic and melancholic style f songs)

This album (with its best average in Desert,Sea of Tranquility The Secret ,Novgorod,Ease Your Mind and Bravo) is a very good album.Beautiful songs ..some happier some sadder :very melancholic and spacy. Arrangements are very good and vocals are excellent for this kind of songs.

Unfortunately this band is not so consistent.This album very good Firebird..so...so....and Night excellent.

We hope next work show an increasing of quality.

For this one 4 stars.

"Bravo" is the debut full-length studio album by Norwegian rock act Gazpacho. The album was released through Intact Records in 2003. The history of Gazpacho dates back to 1996 when a couple of old friends met after some years of seperation and formed the band. The three original members of the band were all major Marillion fans and active members of the Scandinavian branch of the fanclub and as result lead vocalist Jan-Henrik Ohme was invited to perform on the first Marillion Convention Weekend, and spend the event handing out the Gazpacho "Get It While It's Cold" promo, which provided the band with some attention. At least enough attention to be able to release a six-track EP in 2002, which ultimately lead to the recording of "Bravo".

The music on "Bravo" is pleasant, simple, melodic, and relatively catchy rock, with a few nods towards more adventurous music. Album opener "Desert" is the most structurally interesting track on the album, and it features a couple of semi-progressive ideas, but it´s not an overtly complex track. Other standout tracks on the album are "Sea Of Tranquility" and "Mesmer", but "Bravo" is generally a nice listening experience and a good quality release. There are a couple of less remarkable tracks on the album like "Nemo" and "California", but it´s not a major issue.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts, but it´s Ohme´s strong voice and melancholic and warm delivery that is the icing on the cake (the pleasant sounding keyboards could be mentioned as another asset). The drums are programmed (except for on a few tracks), which is a bit odd on a rock album, but it actually works pretty well for the most part. "Bravo" is fairly well produced too, so upon conclusion it´s a decent debut album by Gazpacho. There are several positive elements to be found on the album, but in the end it´s rarely a remarkable album, but more often just a decent one. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Feeling embarrassed by listening this, or pleased by this in a very special way ? I really don't know, because Gazpacho's debut is very confusing album. It's not ethereal as "Night", more like straight-to-earth album. He's not shouting, vocals are quite pleasant (I like this type of singing, definitely not clear, but charming for sure - mostly [not at all times - California]). But there's something bad, which brings this record to its knees. It is melodic, indeed, I like this element in music, but not in this way. I don't feel good when listening this music. Still, it's qualities are considerable, so

3(+), but I can't get myself to give more.

Gazpacho continue the fine traditionthan Norweigan musiciabs have for stretching the boundries of genres; whwter ir be Jazz, post-rock or anything else.

this is there debut album...and they set themselves a difficult task for the 2nd album because this is very fine indeed. This is an imaginative band, with a myriad of influences filtered and distilled tocreateaunique musicalf orm of their own. We have a warm, emotive vocalist together withtalenred muscians who are capable of weaving a unique sonic tapestry. No doubt, those of you whohavelistend willhereamyriadof influences and/or comparisons withotherbands pat and present..... I hear some similarities withother artists on the K-Scope 'Post-progresive' label ...and hear hints of many other conteporaryacts too - listen for yourself - many peoples eem to pickout unusua lcomparisons when listening to this unusual scandinavian act .... who manage to still maintain ordinary lives with full-time jobs alongside producing some wonderful music

I learned about Gazpacho through Internet Radio and by searching for Gazpacho, discovered Prog Archives!

I rather like this debut release. Sets a nice mellow mood. Favorite tracks Desert, Nemo, California Mesmer and so on . . . and yes also Bravo.

Must say though that the track "The Secret" could be so much better sounding if the instrumentation used were more ordinary. The Gazpacho website has a fan section called "The Soup Kitchen" where you can download some live tracks, at the live version of "The Secret" sounds so much better.

A nice set of songs and definitely something you can use to compare future releases. Good solid 3 stars.