RISK

Well they are finally back after a decade away and the worry was will it be as good as previous releases. Well the good news is that it's not as good, it's even better! This is probably the bands strongest release. The line up is the same as previously, William Kopecky ' bass, Dan Maske ' keyboards, Angela Schmidt ' cello & Craig Walkner ' drums with the addition of guest Jerry Loughney ' violin. It still features all the rehearsal intensive composed music but rocks and bounces like a beast. For fans of Univers Zero, Henry Cow, DAAU, with 20th century classical composer references in a rock setting this is a must have. A contender for album of the year.

The band is back after a hiatus of 10 years with a new release. Their music is instrumental avant-garde, angular with some dissonance, and odd time signatures. The sound of this music is in part possible because of the presence of the violin and cello instead of the traditional guitar. But what strikes me on this album is the tasty and crisp bass sound of William Kopecky who's playing is flying over the music. The band enjoys mixing metal and rock with chamber music with some very intense dark atmosphere that takes your breath away. There is also lighter mood with classical tones, piano, and violin especially at the end of the album. When I compare this album with the previous one, I would say that this one is their most rigorous, structured album to date in this kind of style with less improvisation and more symphonic and melodic structures. It's definitely going to reach a wider audience and be a serious candidate to the best album of 2018.

A new instrumental Avant chamber release from 15 year Cuneiform veterans FAR CORNER, aggressive music in the vein of ÄNGLAGÅRD and THINKING PLAGUE.

This is music that, for me, has very little soul, very little added creativity to the almost Jazz-Rock Fusion by the numbers compositions, if you will. For instance, comparing this to Dewa Budjana's release from the same year, Mahandini, we can see how the musicians playing with Dewa add so much extra to every composition--to every bar and measure of each composition, whereas the band members here on Risk add nothing more than is on paper; it's stiff, by-the-book performances of the music just as it is written and no more. Tight, yes, but flat and soulless. The band shows great skill and dexterity--and compositional facility--yet it feels as if every song, every note, is performed just as it was composed, just as it plays out on paper. This lack of spontaneity and instantaneous and extraneous creative input is not, to my mind, representative of the hallmarks of either jazz or jazz-rock fusion. Again, if you listen to some of the other candidates for Album of the Year--like Unaka Prong's Salinity Now! or All Traps on Earth's A Drop of Light or Anna von Hausswolff's Dead Magic or even Gleb Kolyadin's self-titled solo debut--there are many instances of nuanced, subtle creative input from the individual performers--you can hear it (sometimes sounding like mistakes but definitely feeling "unscripted") there are many, many instances that catch the ear in which you know the individual musician is adding something fresh and individualistic to the weave. Far Corner seem to be making, here, factory-made rubber-stamped music (if admittedly complicated music). It's too stark and mathematical; it's not for me.

Far Corner is a band I haven't previously come across, although apparently this is their third studio album (albeit the first one in a few years). But when I started looking at the line-up, I realised that I have come across a couple of those involved prior to this. The rhythm section is made up of bassist William Kopecky and drummer Craig Walkner, who were also two thirds of Yeti Rain, whose album 'Stars Fall Darkly' I raved about some years back. However, I have been aware of William for more than 20 years and loved the band he formed with his brothers in the Nineties, Kopecky. As ever, he provides a bass sound which takes Chris Squire as an influence, and then becomes even deeper and distorted. There are sections on the album when it is just him and Craig, who wouldn't know a standard 4/4 pattern even if it tried to introduce itself nicely, yet one doesn't miss the other instruments when they are acting as a duo. The others? Yes, this is a quartet, with Dan Maske on keyboards and Angela Schmidt on cello (Jerry Loughney guests on violin on a few songs). It is hard to really describe what the band are attempting to achieve, but imagine late Sixties progressive (in its truest sense) music combining with classical, add in some RIO and Zeuhl, with more than the odd nod towards Art Zoyd and then you may just start to get an idea on what on earth is going on.

This is music which demands to be listened to, it isn't something that can be passed off in the background, as this is a force of nature that that at times is incredibly heavy and dynamic (who needs a guitar?). Dan tends to use sounds such as Hammond, Mellotron and Moog while Angela is out to prove that a cello can be an instrument of mass destruction in the right/wrong hands. I hate to think how many bow strings she demolished during the recording. This is an album of depth, power and passion, dynamic and relentless with every single person acting as a soloist and band leader even when they are all playing together. One can't afford to do anything else while this is on as there is just so much happening that it has to be concentrated on. This may seem that it is a hard album to listen to, but I found it incredibly easy and enjoyable on the first hearing. This is for anyone who is interested in progressive music which really is that, pushing boundaries and providing an immense album for those prepared to listen. It has been more than ten years since the last album, so when is the next one coming out?

The influence from Stravinsky and Bartok is truly evident even in the heavier moments of Far Corner's 2018 release. Risk is truly an excellent album with some stunning moments, ranging from beautiful classical chamber music to heavier, more metallic grooves. As always, the band's unusual instrumentation makes for a very unique sound, and the distorted cello really sells a lot of the songs on the record. Some personal favorites of mine include "Flim Flam Man", "Myopia", and "Summit". A lot of the longer songs in this type of music usually tend to drag on a bit too long for me, but the band does an excellent job of changing the sound up just enough to keep it interesting. Really an outstanding and very unique album, and possibly the best album of 2018.

It's been something like 11 years since their last studio album "Endangered" and while these are all instrumental albums I like the theme with the wolves and wildlife. One of my all time favourite album covers right here plus the pictures elsewhere are just so beautiful. Some cool pictures of the band playing their instruments and I like the one of bassist William Kopecky sporting that "Paul Kopecky Memorial Concert" t-shirt. A few months ago I played "Sunset Gun" by the band KOPEKY which is the three brothers and I was reminded that drummer Joe Kopecky passed at 37 years of age from Juvenile Diabetes in 2009 I believe which is why that t-shirt is special.

As far as the music goes it's a lot to take in. I wish this was a 45 minute album but at 63 minutes it wears me down. I mean it doesn't get any better when it comes to the musicianship and the compositions but this is complex and weighty. A Classical element to this and I did think of both PRESENT and UNIVERS ZERO. So glad they use mellotron on here, it adds some warmth. There is one guest adding violin to three tracks so with the prominent cello we get plenty of strings, keyboards, drums and bass. No guitar but that's okay.

The sound quality couldn't be better and for me those early tracks really standout, in fact those first three tracks hit the spot big time. The added samples mean a lot to me as we get them on a few tracks including the start of the album's opening track "Unapproachable" which is under 2 1/2 minutes but with the samples and atmosphere I love it. Some suspense here as well. "Fork" sounds awesome and those aggressive piano runs bring PRESENT to mind as cello comes in over top. Mellotron! This is powerful and intense.

My favourite though is "Flim Flam Man" which was my favourite from the first spin. The organ sounds so RPI and I adore it. The cello comes in relaxed and that bass! Not so relaxed. The RPI organ is back around 2 minutes. Love the calm that follows and the drumming that kicks in before 3 minutes. Some dirty organ after 3 minutes. Themes are repeated and check out that bass 4 minutes in. Man! The start of "Myopia" kills with the bass and mellotron.

If I described every track I would have a short story to post here and that is in part what makes this a demanding listen for me. Again so impressed and easily 4 stars and just outside my top five for 2018 which was a very strong year for me.