SYNAESTHESIA

I always look forward to the beginning of a new year. This is when many of the debut albums from young bands are released, as they like to avoid the last half of the year when many of the big hitters release new stuff. So, for the first new band I've heard in 2014, Synaesthesia is a great find. Young, energetic, and influenced through several channels, Synaesthesia have put together a fine debut album that I think will earn them some attention.

The band definitely has a sound of their own creation. They take influence from alternative rock. some indie rock , and progressive music. Indeed, I almost hear influence from Incubus, Frost*, Muse, and a few others. Their sound, then, is instantly recognizable, yet as you try to separate the sounds, you will realize that they don't really sound like any other band particularly. I feel that is a genuine accomplishment, and kudos to the band for being so on point here.

So, with all these influences, Synaesthesia's self-titled debut is a fairly eclectic mix of electronic elements, sweeping and also deliberate synth, proggy guitars, light drumming, and a foundation of bass. The musicians here are certainly capable, though the music never gets overly technical. It's more about mood and ambiance, I think. This is especially so with the keys, and there seems always to be a background layer of keys or electronic sounds just to provide, well, a background. Actually, one of the more impressive things on the album is the dual nature of the instrument styles. For instance, the guitars easily switch from proggy detail to alternative distortion. The keys, also, switch from atmospheric to music-leading passages. No one instrument seems to be at the forefront, and so it provides a great modern sound. Synaesthesia so desires to bring a modern sound to progressive music, and I do feel that they have succeeded to a great extent.

This release isn't without flaws, though. At first, I had trouble with the vocalist, Adam Warne. His voice isn't particularly spellbinding, but it does improve with more listens. It definitely lies more in the alternative range. However, I realized that the writing is my main problem with this album. The lyrics are somewhat cheesy and forced sometimes, almost like the band just needed to fill a certain amount of space with a single word. It definitely does not leave an organic feeling on the vocal melodies, but I do believe it's passable. Now, the lyrical content is quite good, as it seems to look at some ways our modern lives are destroying us. This is something with which I can relate. However, I do feel they could have communicated this message more effectively.

All in all, Synaesthesia has released a great album that should please many people. Keyboard-driven music isn't all that common nowadays, and it's great to see a band utilize this approach, but still keep a balance. More than that, the band achieves balance while also writing some rather catchy songs that pay homage to many different music types. "Time, Tension, & Intervention" with its 22+ minute run time is a great representation of the whole album, and is probably my favorite song on the album with its shifting of styles and its tighter writing. Another stand out track is "Life's What You Make of It" with its great chorus and electronic sound.

So, if you like a great mixture of styles and exemplary keys, Synaesthesia may be your new favorite. Everything about this album screams success to me, and not just in the prog sphere, either. With a little bit of everything, Synaesthesia will definitely be talked about quite a bit over the coming months.

This debut album really kill me at first spin!

Well ...yeeeeaaaahhh ...! Finally I got an album that really blew me away at first spin when I got it. Dunno what really happen with me actually as I have to be honest that in term of proggyness this one is not that prog actually and probably some of you might think this is like a straight music with no complexities. I don't blame you at all if you have that opinion. Me too .. I don't think I find some complicated segments from the composition written by a 20- year old young man under prog coaching by Mike Holmes of IQ. One thing for sure this album has become my regular play list the whole album in its entirety because I found something missing when I tried to spin only half-way through of the album. The thing is that the overall flow of the music is truly brilliant. I find the music is really me! It''s really my taste and nothing that I find weird at all from this album. Everything moves beautifully from start to end. I tend to give five stars actually because it's so marvelous in terms of composition especially the nice melody overall and each individual track melody. Things move wonderfully throughout the album and I am really hooked with it!

You might expect that this one is as powerful as Script for a Jester's Tear that also BLEW me away at first spin I got the album in 1983 and made me deeply seated comfortably numb for three hours playing the cassette that I had the first time because at that time CD was not available. As in Script you have the hard groove song laike He Knows You Know or the poserful Forgotten Sons, this one from Synaesthesia basically no song like that at all. It's not that rocky as Script but it is really killing me! And also this album is not something similar with IQ "Ever" with its hard pounding "Darkest Hour" as album opener, for example. However ...there are much similarity with IQ Ever especially there is track that has similar tempo like "Further Away" even though the changing tempo is not that drastic as Ever.

Time, Tension & Intervention is a wonderful album opener and really made me blew away at first listen as I do enjoy the energy as well as the inventive keyboard work throughout the song that is considered as epic as it consumes a 22 minute duration. What amazes me is the stream of music that flows wonderfully taking the lead vocal well supported by combined performance of instruments played. The bass-playing sounds dynamic throughout the epic while the drumming is also wonderful. I do not really understand what really make me enjoyed with the music as actually it sounds just simple. In fact the solo is not as you might expect similar with Rick wakeman or guitar playing like Steve Howe. It's just so wonderful. I keep playing it many time withouth a sense of getting bored with the music. I's really a great opener!

Sacrifice starts off with a simple drumming with nothing special in terms of the virtuosity - it's just a regular drumming and probably some of you might say something special at all - it's just a sound of drumming. But for me this short opening brings what next is a very good music stream that flows wonderfully. Yes, there are music riffs but they are not something like progressive metal at all. the guitar and keyboard work are also mixed thinly and nothing is dominating one to another. The audio production is really neat and flawless. In terms of proggyness, nothing that I can show it demonstratively to you ... It's basically a simple song with upbeat tempo and wonderful groove. And .. I love the vocal line and the melody he brings with the song. It's really a wonderful song! The bass guitar and drumming are also excellent!

Noumenon stars nicely with simple yen inventive keyboard - synthesizer work augmented with bass guitar. The music then flows nicely in relatively slower tempo than the second track. Now the guitar playing really remind me to IQ even though not as raw as IQ. But the key is actually how the keyboard plays its inventive tones along the way with great combination of guitar fills. Oh man .... this third track is also really great! Even though there are some segments that might remind you to IQ but I don't see any melody or bits of it coming out from IQ music at all. It's really a very nice short instrumental.

Epiphany starts off with a musical riff combining bass, guitar, keyboard and drums. The music then goes into a bit of complex segments before it finally lands into a relax mode music that reminds me to the kind of RPWL or Floydian waves. The vocal line is really excellent especially backed up by the waving keyboard work at back ground. There are great moments during vocal line especially when it is augmented by mellotron-like sound that later brings the music into an upbeat tempo with faster speed. WOW!!! What a great tempo changes around this area! And hey ...the band provides you with a short complex segment for a transition to another slow tempo part. Oh man ... wonderful!!!! And ...the guitar solo is stunning, my friend ...... And now you enjoy the Floydian guitar work at the last part of the song.

Good Riddance sounds like a straight rocker but it's backed with a melotron-like sound that suddenly has a break with only drumming work and followed with distanced singing style. Oh what a nice opening part this song has! the music then flows like a Floydian music with hard pounding drumming work. I like the drum sounds really. I usually play this part with high volume at amplifier because it's very satisfying ....!!! I like the ending part of this short track especially with guitar solo and singing style and tight basslines.

Technology Killed The Kids starts with something that sounds like a computer game followed with fast tempo drum beats combined beautifully with keyboard and guitar in relatively fast and upbeat tempo with many breaks and some complexities. The song then takes guitar as lead melody with some breaks indicating the computer games. This short instrumental is really GREAT!

Life's What You Make Of It concludes the album nicely with an ambient opening and vocal line that flows beautifully...there is nothing to rearrange ....as the vocal says at the opening part. the music then flows in crescendo with keyboard work followed with a bluesy guitar work. This might be considered the most poppy compared to previous tracks. Yes it has high points as well but the key thing is that this song sounds like summarizing what the band has presented with its previous six wonderful tracks plus this excellent concluding track.

Conclusion

It's a beautifully-crafted debut album that produces great composition of music in the vein of neo prog combined with modern alternative music but not so much derailed from the prog category as the essential element of the melody has proved successful in making the album cohesive as a whole. Fans of Pallas, Pendragon, Arena, IQ ora Triangle (Dutch) will enjoy very much this album. Yes, I remember Triangle "Square The Circle" has similarity in terms of sub-genre with this debut album. Overall, I would give 4.5 stars for this one even though I tend to give a five star rating, actually. Let time goes by and I might change to five stars later. Keep on proggin' ...!

This album might be the best example of neo-prog music today!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

2014 off with a huge bang. "Extra, Extra, tweet all about it" yells the cyber-paperboy!

Confidence, balls, courage, chutzpah, called it what you will but kicking off a career with a 22 minute extravaganza is a risky business, so it better be darn good. Here we have, blasting out of the blocks, an epic song that touches on so many fronts, at times symphonic and then exploding into an endless vortex of new mood plateaus of sensorial delight, the kind of music you would put on to seduce some succulent young lady into falling into your proggy arms. The best word to describe the first impressions is a sense of beauty that has a huge amount of thought and amazing instrumentation by a one man band, with only some guitar help. The expression is of human reality and not some Tolkien-esque fantasy. "Time, Tension and Intervention" is a 21st century classic, monumental both in scope and in depth, yet seductive to the ear, wrapped in a series of sumptuous melodies, cascading wildly like some winter whirlwind. The guitar playing is world-class, shimmering and glimmering, evidently influenced by the likes of Rothery, Latimer, Barrret, Hackett and IQ's Mike Holmes (who also produces and guides here). Add Akkerman to the list as there is even quite blatantly, the first bars of Hocus Pocus, just to get us older foggies excited again. Two fretboarders are hired to supply the needed shriek, Ollie Hannifan and Nikolas Jon. The arsenal of keyboards create a rich, modern, even futuristic tapestry, hinting at old stylists like Gary Wright, Thomas Dolby, Manfred Mann and Rick Wakeman. The 4 string marvel coughs belligerently, bopping when required and bitch solid when needed. Drumming is quite muscular, pounding hard within echo-laden synthesized atmosphere. The whole rocks, soothes, careens and caresses, all perfectly synchronized and keeping the edge honed at all times. A colossal achievement worthy of the highest praise and frankly, the talk of Progtown, at least in Neo/Symphonic circles. "All I need is a friend and I found you". Indeed!

The one man band is Adam Warne, a 21 year-old wunderkind who must have grown up listening to Vulgar Unicorn albums, as there is a stylistic similitude that explains epic sizes, bombast and subtlety, power and caress. Or he has incredible prog instincts or someone gave him a proper and in depth education, covering the golden years , the abyss periods where electronic synth-pop ruled the waves and the recent magnificent progressive renaissance. His voice is a pleasant hush, not unlike Steve Wilson or Riverside's Mariusz Duda, as is very evident on the second tune, the brash, bellicose and blatantly flipped out "Sacrifice", which winks at classic Foghat, Trapeze and such. Yet Adam has more surprises up his vocal sleeve, doing successfully some intrepid modulations, occasionally serene, often powerful and evocative on so many levels, even detached ennui. Wimpy neo-prog this is not. In fact, it razor sharp and rapier devastating, ballsy and rocky in unending surprise or the musical version of shock and awe (less lethal than war), as the subject matter is mostly romantic slanted, evoking distant aromas of early Roxy Music...Speaking of which, while I happen to be on the subject?

"Moumenon" has a distant relationship to Bryan Ferry's Mamouna album, only in that it's musically exuberant and adventurous like Roxy Music was once. A simply crafted, rollicking piece of entirely proggy prog of the finest vintage, soaring Manzanera-like guitar solo to add the proverbial cherry.

"Epiphany" is the most poignant and delirious song I have heard in a decade (aka that's a lot of music ? Lots). Kicks off like rocket from hell, ka-boom and quickly, unexpectedly flutters into a sumptuous mood, very sexy, very Ferry one second and a howler the next. The same then happens with the music veering into Hawkwind-intense, blazing mellotron leading the charge, the mind reeling from the sheer enjoyment of hearing such quality music, this song is a perfect audio time capsule for the genius of prog, a universe that combines the roots with the heavens, blending in all the colors of the spectrum. Warne bellows "Please take me home" over and over again until the final climax. You have to hear this to believe it, a masterpiece slice of brilliance.

Let's get those neo-prog bashers into a tizzy, gazing down only at their foolishness, tied as they are to this Synaesthesia chair and endure the unthinkable pleasure! Couple of short gems add sparkle to the rain = "Good Riddance" is a snarly affair, replete with gusto and bravado (them two Italian twins), "live my life" he blurts, the voice suave and the theme electric. Booming bass, obsessive themes not unlike Anathema, especially in lieu of Warne's emotional delivery that does recall Vince Cavanagh, perhaps one of the finest current rock singers ever.

This modern trend becomes extremely obvious on "Technology Killed the Kids" (great name for a band, no?), wondering where the video star is hiding now, a quirky little thingie that is smart and well-played, old bean! There is a robust but playful sense to the proceedings that just 'buggles' the mind.

The whopper prog-pop song "Life's What You Make of It" ends the album, a clear declaration of their prog roots, giving priority to the ethereal and luminescent. This , folks, is a another killer , on a murderous album, not to be confused with almost similarly titled Talk Talk hit back in the 80s . Here you may get a Vienna Circle vibe or a proggier Blackfield if you like. Another reviewer mentioned Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys, which is again confirming the 80s sensibilities displayed here in abundance. Amazing performance with flourishing bass, swirling synths and propulsive drums giving the passionate vocal a solid platform to expand on life, love and the pursuit of happiness.

As I stated earlier, this is timeless music, the type I could only pray to make if I was a musician. Bah, being an audiophile is good enough! So many familiar tinges, 80s stuff like the Korgis, Simple Minds, New Muzik, Naked Eyes and similar ilk, all processed with intense, modern and classy proggisms.

Synaesthesia generously gave and I happily took. One of the finest debut albums in prog.

5 no-brainers

As soon as I saw that this band have released their debut on GEP I was excited to hear what they are about. The label may not have released many different artists over the years, but given that their roster has included bands such as Jadis, Threshold and Big Big Train, as well as of course the mighty IQ then my excitement is fully justified. Then I realized that it had been produced by none other than Mike Holmes himself, so I became even more intrigued. Add to that the fact that the opening song is some 22 minutes long and all the signs were definitely pointing in the right direction. The fact that this band has been put together by a young unknown keyboard player, Adam Warne, who also wrote all the songs and sang them only added to the interest.

I felt that there was no way that I could possibly be disappointed by this, and boy was I right. Slightly more Crossover than Neo, this is an album that is immediate and for me hearkens right back to the Nineties when the UK scene was just exploding with incredible bands and great albums. This has pretty much all one could wish for from a progressive rock album: it turns and twists, allowing everyone to take the spotlight when the time is right, and always driving forward. Although Adam is a keyboard player this is not an album that is overtly dominated by keys, but is incredibly well balanced and allows the twin guitars to shine and dominate when the time is right. But he also has a Steven Wilson approach to vocals, and there is clarity and emotion in all that he does in that arena, shining above the music with real passion and vitality.

There have been some standout debuts in the last six months or so (Mice on Stilts and Perfect Beings for example) and this is yet another. Their links with IQ have already seen them benefit in terms of gigs, but they have to stand on their own right and with this album they definitely do it. No doubt this is going to feature in many end of the year lists, it is that good. www.synaesthesiahq.com

Synaesthesia are a young, fresh-faced UK prog band who have had the good fortune to become protegees of IQ's Mike Holmes, who after they signed to IQ's Giant Electric Pea record label would not only take on the production duties on this debut album, but would also provide a guest spot at one point on guitar. Try and spot him if you can, though, because group guitarists Sam Higgins and Ollie Hannifan offer a capable two-lead attack which provides a suitable backdrop for Adam Warne's keyboard work. It's not a perfect album - in particular, I find Warne's vocals to be rather bland and generic, and wonder whether the band wouldn't be better served by going instrumental - but it's an fairly solid debut which makes me hope for great things in the future from this group.