FAR CORNER

It's been something like 11 years since their last studio album "Endangered" and while these are all instrumental albums I like the theme with the wolves and wildlife. One of my all time favourite album covers right here plus the pictures elsewhere are just so beautiful. Some cool pictures of the band playing their instruments and I like the one of bassist William Kopecky sporting that "Paul Kopecky Memorial Concert" t-shirt. A few months ago I played "Sunset Gun" by the band KOPEKY which is the three brothers and I was reminded that drummer Joe Kopecky passed at 37 years of age from Juvenile Diabetes in 2009 I believe which is why that t-shirt is special.

As far as the music goes it's a lot to take in. I wish this was a 45 minute album but at 63 minutes it wears me down. I mean it doesn't get any better when it comes to the musicianship and the compositions but this is complex and weighty. A Classical element to this and I did think of both PRESENT and UNIVERS ZERO. So glad they use mellotron on here, it adds some warmth. There is one guest adding violin to three tracks so with the prominent cello we get plenty of strings, keyboards, drums and bass. No guitar but that's okay.

The sound quality couldn't be better and for me those early tracks really standout, in fact those first three tracks hit the spot big time. The added samples mean a lot to me as we get them on a few tracks including the start of the album's opening track "Unapproachable" which is under 2 1/2 minutes but with the samples and atmosphere I love it. Some suspense here as well. "Fork" sounds awesome and those aggressive piano runs bring PRESENT to mind as cello comes in over top. Mellotron! This is powerful and intense.

My favourite though is "Flim Flam Man" which was my favourite from the first spin. The organ sounds so RPI and I adore it. The cello comes in relaxed and that bass! Not so relaxed. The RPI organ is back around 2 minutes. Love the calm that follows and the drumming that kicks in before 3 minutes. Some dirty organ after 3 minutes. Themes are repeated and check out that bass 4 minutes in. Man! The start of "Myopia" kills with the bass and mellotron.

If I described every track I would have a short story to post here and that is in part what makes this a demanding listen for me. Again so impressed and easily 4 stars and just outside my top five for 2018 which was a very strong year for me.

The influence from Stravinsky and Bartok is truly evident even in the heavier moments of Far Corner's 2018 release. Risk is truly an excellent album with some stunning moments, ranging from beautiful classical chamber music to heavier, more metallic grooves. As always, the band's unusual instrumentation makes for a very unique sound, and the distorted cello really sells a lot of the songs on the record. Some personal favorites of mine include "Flim Flam Man", "Myopia", and "Summit". A lot of the longer songs in this type of music usually tend to drag on a bit too long for me, but the band does an excellent job of changing the sound up just enough to keep it interesting. Really an outstanding and very unique album, and possibly the best album of 2018.

Far Corner is a band I haven't previously come across, although apparently this is their third studio album (albeit the first one in a few years). But when I started looking at the line-up, I realised that I have come across a couple of those involved prior to this. The rhythm section is made up of bassist William Kopecky and drummer Craig Walkner, who were also two thirds of Yeti Rain, whose album 'Stars Fall Darkly' I raved about some years back. However, I have been aware of William for more than 20 years and loved the band he formed with his brothers in the Nineties, Kopecky. As ever, he provides a bass sound which takes Chris Squire as an influence, and then becomes even deeper and distorted. There are sections on the album when it is just him and Craig, who wouldn't know a standard 4/4 pattern even if it tried to introduce itself nicely, yet one doesn't miss the other instruments when they are acting as a duo. The others? Yes, this is a quartet, with Dan Maske on keyboards and Angela Schmidt on cello (Jerry Loughney guests on violin on a few songs). It is hard to really describe what the band are attempting to achieve, but imagine late Sixties progressive (in its truest sense) music combining with classical, add in some RIO and Zeuhl, with more than the odd nod towards Art Zoyd and then you may just start to get an idea on what on earth is going on.

This is music which demands to be listened to, it isn't something that can be passed off in the background, as this is a force of nature that that at times is incredibly heavy and dynamic (who needs a guitar?). Dan tends to use sounds such as Hammond, Mellotron and Moog while Angela is out to prove that a cello can be an instrument of mass destruction in the right/wrong hands. I hate to think how many bow strings she demolished during the recording. This is an album of depth, power and passion, dynamic and relentless with every single person acting as a soloist and band leader even when they are all playing together. One can't afford to do anything else while this is on as there is just so much happening that it has to be concentrated on. This may seem that it is a hard album to listen to, but I found it incredibly easy and enjoyable on the first hearing. This is for anyone who is interested in progressive music which really is that, pushing boundaries and providing an immense album for those prepared to listen. It has been more than ten years since the last album, so when is the next one coming out?

A new instrumental Avant chamber release from 15 year Cuneiform veterans FAR CORNER, aggressive music in the vein of ÄNGLAGÅRD and THINKING PLAGUE.

This is music that, for me, has very little soul, very little added creativity to the almost Jazz-Rock Fusion by the numbers compositions, if you will. For instance, comparing this to Dewa Budjana's release from the same year, Mahandini, we can see how the musicians playing with Dewa add so much extra to every composition--to every bar and measure of each composition, whereas the band members here on Risk add nothing more than is on paper; it's stiff, by-the-book performances of the music just as it is written and no more. Tight, yes, but flat and soulless. The band shows great skill and dexterity--and compositional facility--yet it feels as if every song, every note, is performed just as it was composed, just as it plays out on paper. This lack of spontaneity and instantaneous and extraneous creative input is not, to my mind, representative of the hallmarks of either jazz or jazz-rock fusion. Again, if you listen to some of the other candidates for Album of the Year--like Unaka Prong's Salinity Now! or All Traps on Earth's A Drop of Light or Anna von Hausswolff's Dead Magic or even Gleb Kolyadin's self-titled solo debut--there are many instances of nuanced, subtle creative input from the individual performers--you can hear it (sometimes sounding like mistakes but definitely feeling "unscripted") there are many, many instances that catch the ear in which you know the individual musician is adding something fresh and individualistic to the weave. Far Corner seem to be making, here, factory-made rubber-stamped music (if admittedly complicated music). It's too stark and mathematical; it's not for me.

The band is back after a hiatus of 10 years with a new release. Their music is instrumental avant-garde, angular with some dissonance, and odd time signatures. The sound of this music is in part possible because of the presence of the violin and cello instead of the traditional guitar. But what strikes me on this album is the tasty and crisp bass sound of William Kopecky who's playing is flying over the music. The band enjoys mixing metal and rock with chamber music with some very intense dark atmosphere that takes your breath away. There is also lighter mood with classical tones, piano, and violin especially at the end of the album. When I compare this album with the previous one, I would say that this one is their most rigorous, structured album to date in this kind of style with less improvisation and more symphonic and melodic structures. It's definitely going to reach a wider audience and be a serious candidate to the best album of 2018.

Well they are finally back after a decade away and the worry was will it be as good as previous releases. Well the good news is that it's not as good, it's even better! This is probably the bands strongest release. The line up is the same as previously, William Kopecky ' bass, Dan Maske ' keyboards, Angela Schmidt ' cello & Craig Walkner ' drums with the addition of guest Jerry Loughney ' violin. It still features all the rehearsal intensive composed music but rocks and bounces like a beast. For fans of Univers Zero, Henry Cow, DAAU, with 20th century classical composer references in a rock setting this is a must have. A contender for album of the year.

A company of experienced musicians from Milwaukee, Wisconcin, fronted by award-winning keyboardist Dan Maske.Far Corner came to life during the spring of 2003 with Maske being surrounded by bassist William Kopecky (from the Kopecky band), female cellist Angela Schmidt and percussion wizard Craig Walkner.After some lives around the Milwaukee area they were picked up by Steve Feigenbaum's Cuneiform Records and recorded their self-titled debut at the EDream Studios with guest contributions by Frederick Schmidt on clarinet and Heather Schmidt on flute.The album was released in September 2004.

Typical stuff of the Cuneiform catalogue, Far Corner's style is heavily rooted in Chamber, Classical and Jazz Music, performed over a Progressive Rock attitude, displaying complex rhythms and nervous twists with great energy.The music is atonal, complicated and intricate, featuring full cello strings and frenetic drumming/percussions with Kopecky's bass providing a huge background depth and Maske's performance creating sinister, organic textures or lush, piano-based segments.They kind of recall THE MUFFINS' more experimental period with a touch of MIRIODOR/YUGEN deep-sounding R.I.O. procedures, but the atmosphere in here is more cinematic and sterile due to the powerful presence of cello and intense focus on Kopecky's indredible bass executions.The organ parts of Maske seem to come out of the early-70's Psych Rock scene at moments and thIS fact adds Far Croner's sound an even more original touch.On the other hand this work contains plenty of full improvised moments in an excess of talent and free spirit, which I doubt they will offer some pleasure to casual Prog listeners.The tighter and structured pieces are of course more than impressive, flowing along the progressive principles and featuring emphatic, rich and dark moves, even if some of them sound a bit disjointed.

High-class, complex R.I.O.with experimental vibes, heading for the mystified listeners of the movement.Check out the aforementioned resemblances and it is more than sure you will like Far Corner's debut as well.Recommended.

A late prog discovery of mine that has left me quite impressed is "Endangered", a very late discovery indeed, since I'm convinced that had I managed to purchase this avant-prog gem one year before this review I'm starting to write now, my "best of 2007" personal list would have had some serious modifications. You can't turn back the clock, but you can praise a good musical work anyway. This is Far Corner's sophomore album: Far Corner is, together with Birdsongs, 5uu's, Thinking Plague, Estradasphere, French TV, Dr. Nerve et al., one of those intrepid bands from the USA that state a peculiar approach to the avant-garde side of art-rock with solid inspirations from old school RIO, zheul and, contemporary chamber experimental jazz. The case of Far Corner is that their nuclear sound tends to be more atmospheric and a bit less aggressive than most of their avant-rocker partners, which by no means indicates plain accessibility; you will also find somber darkness and robust tension in many passages of "Endangered", you can rest assured about it. 'Inhuman' states a sense of bizarre, eerie mystery that patently announces the arrival of some imminent explosion of doom and gloom - pure suspense Univers Zero style. The track's frenzy closure, with those pounding tribal drums and climatic organ progressions, adequately opens the door for the arrival of the more assertive piece 'Do You Think I'm Spooky?'. The straightforward accent of the sort of question borne on the title makes sense with the vital dynamics delivered through the track's development. The musical ideas portray a sense of darkness and controlled creepiness, yet it is also majestically appealing. 'Creature Council' goes to even more dynamic places, reinforcing the jazz-rock factor in such a way that it even gives some room for the inclusion of Emersonian elements in many piano and organ passages. The overall result sounds like a hybrid of "Uzed"-era UZ and a Crimsonized Return to Forever, plus some subtle touches of Magma (in some rhythmic pulsations and wild bass phrases). The cello interventions, that superficially may sound more like ornaments than anything else, actually serve as melodic complementations for the bass and keyboard inputs when not playing some brief, wicked solos. 'Claws' is a pure exercise on aleatory music: as always, it has to be enjoyed and interpreted as a manifesto against the rules of modern reason in favor of a Dadaistic concept of freedom. The introduction of the melodica momentarily provides some sort of candor among the resources of dreamy chaos, which at some point stops dragging around in ethereal disturbance and ends up focalized on the conclusive storm. 'Not From Around Here' is very jazzy, and that allows the band to explore its lyrical side (so far, unsuspected to some extent): while Maske states his exquisite piano lines, Schmidt manages to feature her cello's melodic drive combining the gentle delicacy of chamber music and the groove of jazz. You also have a bass solo in which Kopecky laterally emulates Stanley Clarke. Once this moment of melodic solace is over, the last 20- minutes are occupied by the namesake piece. 'Endangered' delivers a sort of compendium of the most recurrent sonic strategies displayed in the preceding repertoire: strong yet not overwhelmingly dark moods of gloom, jazz-rock dynamics, weird musique concrete interludes, passages dominated by pulsating syncopations, plain tributes to old school chamber rock. The plethoric finale (including trumpet deliveries by Maske himself) completes the final build-up perfectly. "Endangered" has to be one of the most brilliant avant-prog efforts released in the last two or three years: an excellent endeavor by Far Corner, a band we should pay more attention to.

The perfect album for one of those cold, dark, snowy nights.

The first time this album really hit me was on a dark night in February. My room was temporarily darkened due to an unfortunate accident with the main lighting system, so I was reduced to a small, darkly shaded lamp. This gave the room a very cabin in the mountains feel. Enough light to see in front of your, but the corners were filled with darkness and shadows all but flooded the rest of the room. Add to this the fact that it was snowing. And snowing at a decent rate of speed. This is the atmosphere I brought with me to my first listening of Far Corner's Far Corner.

That is what this album is about...atmosphere. Yes, the musicians are highly talented. Yes, the music is unpredicatable and exciting. Yes, the improvisations are interesting, even with repeated listens, but the atmosphere is what stands out to me, and places this a notch above. Far Corner fit into the chamber-prog (sub)category, although they excel at mixing that sound with rock and the avant- garde. As I said eariler, the performers are very talented musicians and all get a chance to shine throughout the disk. Another standout feature is the uniqueness of sound. Most of this can be attributed to Schmidt's cello and the emphasis on the lower end of the sound spectrum (which is expected of a band with a cello and a bass guitar [which is wonderfully mixed when contributing to the sound and never buried underneath the rest of the band]). Not to say the bass overpowers the rest either; The blending of instruments and sound is also quite astounding, as is thier ability to use melody into their avant leadings.

I won't say much about the indivdual tracks, being this is an album that needs to be heard to be appreciated. Silly Whim starts the album in a fairly atypical style. Less chambery, more rock (which is not a bad thing of course). Going Somewhere starts introducing the bands true sound, but its not until Something Out There where the band releases its full sound and glory. Part One, a beautifully performed avant chamber piece. This song really gives the feeling of hiding in a cave out in the wilderness, hearing various sounds outside and the fear that creeps into your mind that it could be something harmful. Part Two explodes with excellent drumming by Mr. Walker. The drums set the mood and the rest of the band portrays the more physical aspects of the song. The chase is on here...running, darting away, trying to be as agile as possible to avoid capture. Part Three, brings back the uneasiness of part one. Are you finally safe? Things seem to be going your way...until...With One Swipe Of It's Mighty Paw, which is another standout on this record. (As a side note, the track titles are really fitting for this music and for me do add to the atmosphere slightly. The same can be said for the cover, which is one of the most beautiful covers in music, in my opinoin, and certainly fits the music.) Throughout the rest of the album, nothing stays in one place...they jump from agitated, to spooky, to calming, to jazzy passages, without ever truly losing the excitment factor.

All in all, this is one of the finer examples of chamber prog from the new century. I really can't say anything bad about it (perhaps it might be a little long, but for me it still ends too soon). Fans of avant-prog, chamber musics, or music that really sets the mood check this one out as soon as possible. This might also be good for people who aren't huge fans of the avant side of prog, being melodic passages are used to a somewhat high degree. 4 to 4.5 stars. Recommended.

4.5 stars. I actually like this one better than their debut. I found this one to be darker, moodier and even emotional on a couple of occasions.The subject is endangered species and some of the song titles as well as the shadow of the wolf on the cover and the deer skeleton inside the liner notes, really bring home how serious this problem is. Even where I live they want to expand the developement to where I have seen deer, fox and other wildlife.They will sacrifice all of that, all in the name (so they say) of progress. When we know it's all in the name of money. As for the band, three of them are classically trained and Maske and Schmidt have even written technical manuals on their respective instruments. Yes, this band has the chops and then some. The main instruments are bass, cello, keyboard / organ and drums. Other instruments are added as well.

"Inhuman" is an experimental track that is sort of an intro for the next one. This one is eerie and haunting. It's inhuman ! Sorry, I had to say it. The swirling organ sounds are a nice touch. Bass leads the way on this one, as it does on most of the tracks. Kopecky is brilliant ! "Do You Think I'm Spooky?" was recorded live and features pounding piano as drums join in followed by bass and organ. Great sound !I love the hammond organ before 3 minutes. Hypnotic drums after 4 minutes as piano is sprinkled in. "Creature Council" is an aggressive and heavy track. It features more beautiful organ runs, and the keys and drums are prominant. Check out the bass after 3 minutes ! The song does calm down with piano, bass and light drums but it's brief. Various sounds fill the air on this next uptempo section. It gets heavy 7 1/2 minutes in before the cello arrives. Dark piano melodies end it. In the liner notes they say that the style of music in this song reflects the "metal heads" in each one of them.

"Claw" is really each member making scratching noises anyway they could. It's dark and atmospheric with strange sounds. Funny but I found this song to be a little emotional just thinking of the wildlife and the different sounds they make in their habitat that may one day disappear. Of course their claws are used to survive in various ways. This track is very experimental and it works. "Not From Around Here" originally made me think of animals who are forced into populated areas because of their homes being removed, but the band unfortunately says this title was used because this song is different from the rest. It's a jazzy, brighter song with some nice piano and bass, lots of violin as well. "Endangered" is the epic track at almost 20 minutes. My original thoughts about this song were "this is what it sounds like to be endangered". And if you listen to this song with that mind set you can feel the animals fear, and hear them on the run. The haunting sounds, the build ups,the strange alarming noises, they all go into making my imagination run wild just like a good book.

What else to say ? I'm a big fan of this band, and I think this is their best work yet. I just wish this was as much a concept album as it is in my mind. Maybe the next one ?