RACHEL

Well, at this moment I may not complain about the situation for the lesser known and unknown new progrock bands on Prog Archives: last week Oaksenham from Armenia was added, fellow symphomaniac Bhikkhu is busy with the inclusions of Neverness from Spain and Obscura from Italy and today I noticed that Echoes from France is added, good work! Echoes is a new French four piece band with an additional female player on flute traverse. This second CD entitled Rachel is an own production and distributed by the excellent French progrock label Musea

Listening to Rachel I presume that the band name Echoes is a kind of tribute to the sound of Pink Floyd their album Meddle but I also hear elements from early Jane and Eloy. Echoes their sound is build upon lots of tension between the dreamy and more compelling parts with lots of organ and sensitive electric guitar. Remarkably is the variety in the instrumentation: twanging guitar and organ in Night The First, sensitive electric guitar and sparkling Grand piano in I Met With Scorn, a sumptuous church organ sound with fiery guitar and vocal harmonies in The Lift, Grand piano and flute traverse with a swelling organ sound in Supermarket Santa Claus and piano with flute and biting wah-wah guitar in Until The Last Shadow Is Gone. One of my favorite tracks is The March Of Rachel: majestic piano play, then a slow rhtyhm with propulsive guitar work and catchy guitar runs, followed by fragile piano flights and a tight tango rhythm with theatrical vocals, this sounds like a rock-opera!

I had to get used to the English vocals of these Frenchmen (three musicians also sing), especially in I Met With Scorn the accent is a bit too obvious. But I am glad that in general the vocals sound OK although I would have been more pleased with French vocals ( I always prefer native language). My conclusion: a wonderful album with moving work on organ and guitar that has carried me away many times during the running time of 60 minutes! My rating: 3,5 stars.

Clearly this french band has taken it's name from the PINK FLOYD song of the same name. They do have a sound that reminds me of early FLOYD, but they also have added their own flavour to it. There are songs and passages on this disc that are fantastic, but there are also some songs and passages that I could take or leave.The organ play is a plus for me, the vocals are ok for the most part.

"Night The First" reminds me of VIOLETA DE OUTONO and is also my favourite track. Gentle guitar and vocals create a cool sound to open. After a minute organ and more passionate vocals arrive. Before 2 minutes it sounds so much like VIOLETA DE OUTONO. Nice. The contrast continues. I can't say enough about this song. I had such high hopes when I first heard this track but the rest(except the last song) aren't even close to sounding this good. The organ runs are outstanding. "I Met With Scorn" opens with a drum and piano melody. The tempo picks up and vocals arrive after 2 minutes. They aren't very good either. As Eric mentioned the accent is strong. Guitar before 4 minutes. Passionate vocals(better) 6 1/2 minutes in with some backup vocals too. "The Lift" opens with an organ solo that is joined by guitar and drums. It calms down as vocals arrive a minute in. This pattern is repeated. "Supermarket Santa Claus" is pastoral with piano and synths. Drums follow then vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. Guitar after 4 minutes.

"The March Of Rachel" is my least favourite track. It opens with piano as a full sound arrives a minute in. A minute later we get this ethnic, waltz-like rhythm that I just don't like. "Run To The" is an uptempo track with vocals. Not a fan. I do like the brief calm sections though. "For Your Love" is pastoral with outbursts of organ.The best part is 4 1/2 minutes in to the end.This is my third favourite of the bunch. "Until The Last Shadow Is Gone" has a classical feel to it as piano and flute play. Vocals and light drums join in. Some scorching guitar melodies 3 1/2 minutes in. "Night The Last" is like the conclusion to "Night The First" the opening track. It's really a toss up to which one is better. Just love the sound. This features a powerful organ sound, then it calms down beautifully.

There certainly is a lot of potential with this band, and i'll be interested to hear what their next one sounds like.