COMA ROSSI

Indian band COMA ROSSI was formed back in 2014, and from their home base in Bangalore, India they have worked diligently since then to create material suitable for a debut album. At the end of 2018 this debut album appeared, simply called "Coma Rossi", and was self released as a digital album by the band. Shortly after the album was picked up by Irish label Progressive Gears, and made available in CD format.

There are many bands out there that explore different variations of what some people have dubbed new progressive rock these days. Bands that have taken direct and indirect inspiration from the likes of Porcupine Tree, Pineapple Thief, Radiohead and others. I'd suggest that those that tend to enjoy the first two of those bands in particular would have a fairly good chance to enjoy the landscapes that Coma Rossi have chosen to explore. A strong and promising debut album.

As one of the oldest amalgamations of cultures in the entire world, the mega-nation of India spans thousands of years and has crafted some of the most memorable and distinct forms of music ranging from classical Hindustani and Carnatic to the diverse sounds of Bollywood filmi and catchy Indi-pop however progressive rock has taken a lot longer to catch on in this nation of over a billion inhabitants but the time has come in recent years that the rest of the world has adopted some of the more sophisticated sounds that evolved in the West, new bands are popping up all over the place.

COMA ROSSI comes from the city of Bangalore which is more associated with the booming tech world than as a bastion for English flavored prog but this band that consists of Tom Borah (vocals, acoustic guitar), Udayan Kashalikar (bass, vocals), Juby Thomas (keyboards, samples), Gaurav Govilkar (guitars) and Anupam Panda (drums) was formed in 2014 and four years later released its self-titled debut album which incredibly sounds like a seasoned mature band that has been around much longer. When you think of anything remotely Indian in prog you automatically go to the 70s fusion styles of Indo-raga where sitars dominate the ethnic waves of ancient Hindu dreams but COMA ROSSI has completely forsaken its indigenous sounds for a mature sound that is right out of the Porcupine Tree playbook.

This is band that doesn't rely on instrumental wankery to get its point across but rather delivers an amazing atmospheric textured slow burning style of prog that is fortified with the best production techniques and highly emotive performances that allow slowly unwinding rhythmics that are accentuated by lush ambient soundscapes, fuzzy guitar sustain with the occasional solos a la Pink Floyd and beautiful sweeping synthesized effects. The eight tracks slink by slowly and confidently and extend out to the 67 minute running time but despite this nonchalant procession to the finish line, COMA ROSSI have crafted an amazingly addictive slice of atmospheric prog that often borders on shoegaze in its nebulous spaced out detachment that nurtures stray melodies into emotionally rich hooks. Prog-gaze is a thing now? Thanks Steven Wilson!

When it comes to influences it is immediately apparent that Porcupine Tree are the clear winners of this honor however COMA ROSSI still manage to craft a style that escapes the catastrophic disaster of becoming a mere clone. Oh no way! While the atmospheric production may evoke a sense of "The Sky Moves Sideways" psychedelic rock on valium mixed with a touch of heavier "Deadwing" types of guitar distortion, COMA ROSSI cleverly steers the melodic constructs into its own universe of instantly accessible hooks without bringing Mr. Steven Wilson to mind for even a second. Sometimes sounding like a bit of Pineapple Thief, sometimes a touch of Floyd, the slow unfolding shoegazy effects of the gentle groovy bass lines and passionate vocal deliver an arousing and attention getting set of tunes that are amazingly brilliant.

Some tracks like "Stillborn" are amazingly creative as eerie piano runs alternate with heavy prog guitar riffs while atmospheric cloud covers continuously shift like the atmospheric album cover that simulates a soft breezy afternoon. This is truly one of those albums where the atmospheres dance in a slow but effective manner while the rest of the instrumentation is somewhat of a secondary feature while Tom Barah's vocals give the impression that this music is the next big neo-prog band to break big however the music itself doesn't sound like IQ or Arena but does hint at those styles of prog. This was quite a surprise actually. For prog like this to work for me, it must have a dynamic competent singer as well as an emotive atmospheric production that allows the subtitles to emphasize the greater sum of the parts. Add to that a disparate collection of instantly addictive melodic performances that stand out from each other and you got a winner. Very much looking forward to a sophomore release form COMA ROSSI as this debut is quite impressive.