INMOTION

InVertigo was formed in 2006 and began touring almost right away, spreading their Neo-prog music through Germany, which was influenced by prog giants such as Genesis and Yes. Starting out as a quintet, the band released their debut album in 2010 and their 2nd album in 2012. Finally, 7 years later, in November of 2019, they released their 3rd album called "InMotion", still playing as a quintet made up of Sebastian Brennert (Piano, vocals), Michael Kuchenbecker (keyboards), Kolja Malezki (guitar), Matthias Hommel (bass), and Carsten Dannert (drums). The album is made up of 6 tracks and has a total run-time of 43 minutes and is available on CD and Bandcamp.

The album starts with the sounds of squeakies on "Interrompu" (7:04), but moves into a nice, catchy sound when the band kicks in, with piano leading the way at first, later giving way for the guitar to lead the melody and improvisation for a while. Between solos, the music develops nicely with a boiling bass line, and a nice flowing style. Vocals begin sometime in the 2nd minute, and the sound of a well-developed neo-prog sound becomes apparent. The music is easy enough to listen to, but still has plenty of progressive sensibilities to make it very engrossing for the prog fan. As with the best neo-prog bands, there is a great balance between all of the instruments. There is an excellent instrumental section further in that features the organ and guitar playing together, echoing each other. Things develop into a great guitar solo that builds the tension bringing the vocals back on a real rousing conclusion. We're off to a good start.

"Listen to the Smell of the Pretty Picture" (10:27) starts surprisingly serene with a simple flute effect on the synth. It's not long for the music to develop into a full band sound again, this time with a build up spurred on mostly by the guitar. Again, vocals begin after 2 minutes. The music and lyrics are mostly quite positive and bright sounding, somewhat similar to Spock's Beard style of neo-prog. It's a smooth sound, but very connected and tight, music flowing seamlessly between synths and guitar. The music has it's heavier sections, but they remain restrained so that the music is quite accessible, but the song structure doesn't follow any typical formulas. Later, there is an acapella section that features additional guest vocalists (who appear in various sections in the album) Julia Gorzelanczyk and Ina Merz. "Severn Speaking" (4:41) starts off with thumping drum and a voice sample from a Severn Suzuki speech. Synth and guitar call in the vocals with lyrics about Severn's impact and what have you done about it. After a few verses, there is an instrumental break and vocal samples continue while the music plays. The track is a more traditional song style and a third verse follows, but this time allowing pauses between lines to allow for more vocal snippets from her speeches.

"Wasting Time" (8:53) continues with the smooth neo-prog sound, but this time things are a bit darker, and there is some good tension buildup in various sections. The music tends to get more tense as the track continues and the vocals become more imploring. There are also some sections that suddenly break from the tension, usually in the chorus sections, but the music always returns to the dark tension that is generated by the organ and guitar. At 6 minutes, things get softer and a bit more pensive, but it all works up to another melodic guitar solo. I really like the melody in the chorus and how the music works up to it, and then returns to the tense feeling again. Excellent track.

Next is "Life Part I (random)" (7:40), and the music immediately borrows from the main theme of Edvard Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16", even though it is all played and improvised upon by all of the instruments. The theme is unmistakeable though, not hidden, but very evident. After this theme is played around with for a few minutes, the vocals come in with a message about the unpredictable future, but remaining very positive sounding. When the instruments take over again, the concerto's themes are used some more, but this time in a very improvised fashion with both synths and guitars taking turns at solos. After another verse, the beat becomes quite solid and heavy, and a synth solo takes off followed by a guitar solo. The music remains quite positive sounding. When the vocals return again, the melody has changed, and the lyrics are a bit corny as they tend to be about Googling the meaning of life. It ends with vocal harmonies and piano, and then it moves into "Life Part II (metaphors)" (6:22). There is a sort-of funky riff in the synths as the guitar plays. A new vocal melody emerges, based off of a more straightforward beat this time. The music ends early, and after a short pause, there is a short acoustic coda that ends the album.

The music is a little too bright for my own personal tastes as I usually like a darker, noisier and more complex style, but, pushing that aside, the album isn't too bad. It all remains quite accessible, yet progressive enough to be interesting. The music is definitely neo-prog, and the messages are usually quite positive. There might also be too many clichés throughout the lyrics, but at least the melodies are interesting enough. It's not really my style of music, but I can't deny that the music is well produced and composed and that the band is quite talented. If that sounds like something that you would be interested in, and you like neo-prog, then you will probably agree that this album is a good 4 star album.

Apparently the first ever album released by Progressive Promotion Records back in 2010 was the debut by a little- known part-time band called Invertigo. The idea was to try out different approaches and learn from mistakes, but instead the album was a success and led to the second album, 'Veritas', just a few years later. However, there followed a lengthy gap which has now only just been rectified by the release of the third album 'InMotion', which has been mastered by Martin Schnella (Flaming Row, Seven Steps To The Green Door etc.). Sebastian Brennert (piano, vocals), Michael Kuchenbecker (keyboards), Matthias Hommel (bass) and Carsten Dannert (drums) are all back from the last release, but guitarist Jacques Moch has been replaced by Kolja Malezki.

The result is solid neo prog, with some nice chunky guitars here and there, although never too over the top. The use of piano as well as keyboards is welcome, especially when it is used beneath some chunky riffs as it adds a very different tenor and feel to the album. They are not afraid to mix and match ideas, so a song can start with intricate classical guitars, while on another we have a youngster telling us what we should be doing with the environment. The production is balanced and very clean indeed, which is exactly what I would expect with Schnella being involved, and each musical line is clear and distinct. Just six songs, and a total playing length of 43 minutes, this is an enjoyable album without ever really breaking new ground. Pleasant without being groundbreaking, let us hope it isn't so long until the next one.

Review #16

A band that is always evolving. That's prog!

The talented German neo-prog band "InVertigo" impressed me at the latest after their sensational second album "Veritas" - thus their third album "InMotion" theoretically had a hard time exceeding my expectations. But I always have a basic rule in my leident role as a reviewer: "Compare albums only extreme care." Thus, I mentally detached myself from "Veritas" and approached "InMotion" with an open mind.

Founded in 2001 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, the band has a very charming neo-prog sound, composed of warm progressive elements on the one hand and strong melodic rock elements on the other. The individual touch of the sound is extended by charismatic lead singer and pianist Sebastian Brennert, whose voice I now immediately recognize as distinctive and polished. In addition, keyboardist Michael Kuchenbecker shapes the band's sound with the help of his neo-progressive keyboard sounds. Bass and drums form a symbiotic rhythmic element on which the new guitarist Kolja Maletzki can build harmonically as well as soloistically. The songwriting thus also ranks on a high level.

"InMotion" picks up the above-mentioned strengths of the band quite skillfully and presents the bright prog listener over 45 minutes 6 quite varied and at the same time homogeneous, mature and deep songs. Even though I would like to avoid comparisons to the previous album, it can still be positively ascertained that "InVertigo" make their sound more rocking and at the same time reduce the accessibility of their songs a bit, which pleases me as a demanding prog listener very much. Not everything opens up after the first listen - and we freaks all know that this is a good indicator for very strong albums. Particularly intense "InMotion" always becomes at the points where the band leaves its comfort zone and breaks song structures, presents sophisticated harmonies (instrumental and vocal), spans unusual arcs of tension and even becomes political (in the third song hear several times the climate activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki - very well implemented).

My favorite song, however, is called "Wasted Time", because it has an irresistible chorus, many musical and dynamic twists in the almost nine-minute running time and still works as if from a single mold. Grandiose.

The timey closing song "Life" then reveals within 14 minutes again the further developed approach of "InVertigo" and actually requires its own review, because there is so much to discover here. Goosebumps, really.

Thanks to the technical know-how of Martin Schnella, all songs sound fresh, transparent and punchy. Another plus point of the album.

My conclusion is therefore very positive: The band continues to develop within their accomplished skills, explores new musical paths in stretches and, above all, does not rest on the success of their previous album "Veritas". Even if "InMotion" doesn't reveal all of its beauty right away, you'll be rewarded with some strong neo-prog very soon. If it continues like this, I have no worries that their next album will be another highlight of their discography.

Keep it up!