EDGELÄNDER

Straight from the British Isles is this very Celtic and traditional sound for progressive rock. A self-proclaimed 'chicken herder', the highly eccentric and quirky (as evidenced by his website) George Edgelander takes his love and passion for Northumbrian Pipe music, and transposes it into a progressive folk rock setting, giving a very traditional Celtic sound through rock music, the likes of which has been heard largely before from folk rockers The Morrigan. An instrumental album, Edgelander takes his skill with the electric guitar and puts it to good use, creating a somewhat short, but undeniably fun and enjoyable record that provides a very pastoral, yet proggy musical experience.

As a self-produced album, the music here sounds surprisingly professional in the way George has put the elements together. While the folkier sounds here do sound a bit virtual at times (to the album's detriment), the distinctively Celtic sound gets across through the beautiful melodies conveyed through the clever guitar work. While the instruments here are primarily rock-based, there is never a doubt as to what WyrDGeneS is playing.

While some instrumental rock guitar albums do ultimately get boring, I found that 'edgeLäNDER' held my attention for almost the entire thirty-five minutes of play length, with only a few less engaging moments around the second and third tracks to contend with. A single vocal interlude takes place in the middle of 'Felton Lennen' however, which entails George whispering into the microphone. This feels wholly unnecessary to the album, and is not pleasant in the least to listen to, especially when considering that it greatly breaks the flow of the rest of the album.

The sound here is quite peppy and upbeat, as if it were the the prog soundtrack to some pastoral village celebration. That being said, there are a few moments where George lets the guitars rip, and flaunts his skill a bit, which really works when contrasted to the memorable melodic playing throughout most of the album. While there is not much of an album flow here, or many greatly complicated moments, WyrDGeneS has indeed crafted an interesting and folky record with this one. While not having the complexity or nuances to ever warrant being called a masterpiece, there's still no doubt in my mind that George Edgelander has created a very pleasant musical experience with his debut album.