NEW I FEALING

My knowledge regarding this US band is limited, I actually didn't know about them until someone posted that this EP was free-to-download from their website, so I went there and of course, took advantage of the internet facility. It is always helpful for a band to share music this via, I believe they can reach a higher amount of listeners and of course get new followers.

This EP entitled "New I Fealing" consists of three tracks of avant-garde music that will attract any RIO fan. Three songs may not be enough to introduce a band, but after giving this EP some spins I am really interested in their music, and would be nice to get their previous works (two studio albums, if I am not wrong) it will be worth it, I am sure.

So, this is a glimpse of what this band is capable of. It starts with "Don't Don't Don't", a piano and vocals appear first, then some instruments join and play for a minute. Suddenly it stops, some seconds of silence and then those vocals (both male and female) and the piano return, so the song re-starts. After two minutes and a half it changes its direction, a trumpet enters and the avant-garde music (reminding me a bit to Meredith Monk) is more evident. The last minute is great, the guitar and bass sound pretty cool, and the vocal work amazing.

"Flux Dogs" starts faster and complex. The game that the voices play is crucial to the appreciation of the music. I really like them, they remind me to some acts such as Key Rhone, or Cheer-Accident, for instance. The changes in time and tempo help creating images and atmospheres that the listener will love. There is a moment of stillness where only some noises appear, giving us a saucerful of elements that can be better appreciated with good headphones. After four minutes the tension increases, so the music sounds louder, but later the keyboards make a gentle sound which is completed by the other instruments, and later by vocals.

The third is the longest track, entitled "Nommo Days" starts with a chaos, the first time I listened to it I imagined people fleeing from someone, but a couple of times later I thought about people drunk and happy in a traditional party. Then the music truly starts and gently vocals enter accompanying this sometimes-charming-sound that later turns intriguing and mysterious. After two minutes and a half it changes, slows down, trumpets, flute and violin appears while drums and bass sound as background, there is a beautiful passage where xylophone (I believe) enters and creates a warm and cute atmosphere, which was not enough, so now the harp enters as well and add its grain of sand, making a colorful and rich piece of music.

Sometimes three tracks are enough to captivate you. Twenty minutes of this Make A Rising offering are really worth it, so go and download it. My final grade, three stars.

Enjoy it!

I've been aware of the band for some time, but what's more easy to acquire than a free download, and less demanding of your time than three tracks? Suffice it to say that there wasn't much thought between when I found out this album existed and when its sweet sounds started to enter my brain. It did take a while before the music really started to penetrate - there's a lot of odd stuff going on in here, including: vocals that combine male and female vocals into really dreamy soundscapes, loosely formed instrumental sections that could also be described as dreamy soundscapes, odd rhythms, lots of starts and stops, and underneath it all, a lot of lovely, hidden melodies.

Second track Flux Dogs is the least composed-sounding of all the tracks, being dominated by a long instrumental section in the middle, that makes me think of Moonchild but less likely to just be pointless noddling than difficult to understand. Regardless, it's the first track (Don't Don't Don't) and the last track that really have me excited for this band. Don't Don't Don't features great vocal interplay, and a catchy chorus. But Nommo Days quickly became my favorite, due to the combination of the slower instrumental sections and the vocals after the halfway point, which may be one of the oddest, most unexpectedly beautiful moments in music I've heard in a long time.

Definitely worth your time.

Avant-garde anything can be a thin line to walk. With art, it can be a mind-blowing masterpiece or just a weird, seemingly pointless waste of paint. In movies, a movie could either become an instant genre-defying classic, or just a creepy, weird expression of nothingness. The same pertains to music. Avant music can either be infinitely beautiful, breaking down the walls that we call the constraints of music, or could just be obnoxious and over-exerted noise. Make a Rising with their newest EP Now I Fealing walk that that thin line very carefully, teetering on overly weird at times and at others a tasteful and rather interesting output. With some of the music just having outright absurd melodic waste just for the sake of being absurd, some actually has a nice Avant harmony going for it. Overall, although being a bit weird, this EP isn't all that bad.

On tracks such as the intro to "Don't Don't Don't," the music has a nice fun-sounding circus- like quality, with some interesting harmony between vocals and the various instruments used on the EP. Although the vocal style can get a little annoying, it adds a certain dissonant and oftentimes pleasing and humorous quality to the music, especially with the rather ridiculous lyrics. The interesting compositional quality of the music also adds a nice dynamic, with the overall fun atmosphere of all the instruments communicating with one another complimenting the overall interesting melodies and harmonies. The vocal melodies may get harsh at times, and sometimes they don't compliment the interesting instrumentation, but usually they add that unique Avant touch.

One word easily attributable to this album is unique. The quality of the composition is supreme, with some adventurous atmospheres surrounding the sweeping lines of music. The eighteen minutes of music certainly has that unique style of the band too, with the bumbling lines of wind pieces and up-down percussion style. The overall feeling of the album itself is unique, with the peculiar titles and weird jazzy breakdowns dotting the music, even breaking into a classical orchestral kind of feel at times. Of course, this is avant-garde music, how can we expect any less! Overall, the album is good. For a free download, it is certainly recommended for anyone looking for something refreshing to accent their collection. Although the music is not the most remarkable stuff out there, it is an interesting and worthy output by this small, Philadelphia band. 3+ stars.

I hopped on the free music bandwagon to hear this excellent and quirky group some months ago. I've probably listened to this album 50 times and I've had mixed feelings about the album. Initially pleasantly impressed, then drifting toward "meh" and then as I really sunk my ears into the album for this review, I'm back to being truly impressed. I suppose my time here on PA has changed my ears, for I did not expect this band to be Avant / RIO. Instead, this is a truly eclectic band that gives nods to classics like Yes and Genesis, and major kudos to Frank Zappa and Gentle Giant. However, the band also utilizes very modern sounds such as electronic textures a la math masters Battles and nu-folk / pop groups like Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend. The closest band to this I've heard is Frogg Cafe, but this is crazier.

If this sounds like a lot of material to bite off in a 3 song, 19 minute EP, it is. Though the musicianship is superb and the execution brilliant, there is a little lack of focus. Rather than having a coherent package to communicate to the listener, this band is simply delighting in the pure pleasure of making complex, quirky music. Since I too consider this one of life's great pleasures, I really like this album. But it's not for everyone and specifically it's not for background listening. It just won't make sense.

1. Don't Don't Don't - The EP and song begins with a sad, almost Beach Boys styled harmony section which then yields to a Sergeant Pepper oompah section. These are a bit odd and hurky-jerky, but work well enough. This is repeated a second time before the song takes off with the band's signature blend of math rock and Gentle Giant composition that to me is modern prog at its best.

2. Flux Dogs - This songs begins with a guitar flourish clearly meant as an homage to Steve Howe. The main vocal line is nicely done, though is a bit limited by the singers' very non-distinctive vocal timbres. There is a fun trippy free form instrumental section in the middle, and finishes with a choral flourish.

3. Nommo Days - An angular odd rhythm song with the annoying nu-folk echo on the vocals. Some allusions to nu-folk master Sufjan Stevens. Once again, once the first instrumental section comes in, we get modern prog at its best. Just wonderful chamber rock styled composition. The song move through a pastoral bridge section and climbs to a GG-esque climax.

There are sections of this album that are just brilliant. And absolutely all of it is good, interesting. To me, this is what modern prog is. (Not another neo- rehash.) A very solid 4 star effort. Looking forward to future releases.