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LEBOWSKI

Crossover Prog • Poland


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Lebowski picture
Lebowski biography
Formed in 2002 in Szczecin, Poland

On their debut album in 2010, the listener gets to experience the tunes along the lines of artistic rock, motion picture music, experimental and improvisation, all with harmonized integrity.
"Cinematic" is music for a non-existent film. From a theme aspect we can intrepidly consider it as a concept album, dedicated to the 'big figures' of the Polish and World Cinema.
Lyrics for "Cinematic" are original quotes adopted from the classical Polish and international films.

Bio supplied by Marty McFly

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LEBOWSKI discography


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LEBOWSKI top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.04 | 198 ratings
Cinematic
2010
3.85 | 100 ratings
Galactica
2019

LEBOWSKI Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.13 | 27 ratings
Plays Lebowski
2017

LEBOWSKI Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

LEBOWSKI Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

LEBOWSKI Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

4.50 | 2 ratings
The DoosanWay
2013
4.57 | 7 ratings
Goodbye My Joy
2014
5.00 | 2 ratings
Pretending Life
2023

LEBOWSKI Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Galactica by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.85 | 100 ratings

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Galactica
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by Yo-yo

4 stars Lebowski has already grabbed attention within Poland and abroad with their inspired ideas, powerful concepts, and charming musical craftsmanship they displayed on their 2010 album "Cinematic". Normally, it might be difficult for artists to live up to the acclaim of a proper masterpiece of that sort; however, for me "Galactica" (2019) delivered in the fullest. Retaining the band's signature atmospheric-filmic-instrumental style, "Galactica" is its own creation, noticeably different (but not worse!) than its predecessor.

There are few pieces that could be easily listened to as stand-alones on "Galactica", perhaps only "Goodbye My Joy" and "Slightly Inhuman". The entire album is deeply conceptual, as suggested by the title and cover this time playing on the concept of space, which is most apparent in the sound of "Solitude of Savant", "Midnight Syndrome", and the titular "Galactica". The pieces, albeit distinctive at a closer look, blend into one another in post-listening memories, creating a coherent experience, one that can only be described as imaginative. There is certain dense minimalism to the way Lebowski structure their music on "Galactica": elaborating simple, repetitive melodies in lengthy sessions with an improvisational streak on various instruments from keys, through guitars, to more unexpected flugelhorn (in "Goodbye My Joy": a collaboration with the brilliant jazz soloist Markus Stockhausen). Most of the time, one instrument leads with a fresh melodic entry, while the others join in the arrangement-dialogue, supported by a steady rhythm (similar throughout the album). In addition, for this album the band decided only on wordless female vocals (instead of spoken Polish word like on "Cinematic"), perhaps pointing towards Lebowski's aim for internationalization. The simplicity and subtleness of "Galactica" may be off-putting to some; however, it assures that the sound runs smoothly, binding it together into a coherent, dreamy session one can easily space (pun not intended) out to. Despite not being particularly stimulating in terms of blatant unexpectedness and experimentation, the album is never boring, always subtly changing, and at least a few of the leading melodies remain stuck in the head for a good while. In this case, less is more. This is the music to close your eyes to and allow it to flow- a sort of spacey bend on film music, a bit reminiscent of classical minimalism.

"Galactica" seems to be getting significantly less attention in comparison with "Cinematic", which is a pity. The 4 stars here are well-deserved; perhaps in time this album too will become recognized for its sound and concept. Indeed though- this is an album that requires undisturbed time to be appreciated.

 Galactica by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.85 | 100 ratings

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Galactica
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

4 stars Lebowski is a 4 person Crossover Prog from Poland. In 2010, they released their frist album which was considered a soundtrack for a non-existent movie. The music was inspired by actual movies, mostly Polish films, and was well received by critics. Now, almost 10 years later, the band has finally released a 2nd album "Galactica". The group's line up remains the same, with a guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, and drummer. The album was released at the end of January 2019.

"Solitude of Savant" starts out with an orchestral beginning, and the cinematic feel of the track feels like it comes right at the heels of their first album. After a bit of contemporary orchestra, the band takes over in an impressive way with guitars and piano sharing the spotlight. The guitars are somewhat heavy while the piano keeps things down to earth. The melody is very lovely, even when the bass takes it over later in the track, while a string effect plays pizzicato. I say effect, but it sounds quite realistic, but there are no credits for an orchestra or string section. After this section, the guitar takes on a melodic solo.

"Midnight Syndrome" begins with a cool, keyboard solo with drums providing a nice straightforward rhythm. The guitar then copies the melody and improvises off of it. Keys and guitar join together after this. There are female wordless vocals that come in later and then a jazz tinged guitar solo. "Goodbye My Joy" is a soft-jazz track that is led with a flugelhorn, a mandolin and soft guitar. Later there is an electric guitar solo, but the overall sound of the track is still quite mellow and accessible.

"White Elephant" is an almost complete opposite of the previous track, starting with a churning hard rock riff, but this is replaced by a spacey synth playing the melody. Later, the bass takes charge as things intensify a bit, but the synth is still allowed to come in and take over again. The track continues as a straightforward rock instrumental. "The Doosan Way" is a re-imagining of a track released on an earlier single from 2013. It is a more mellow track with a jazz flair led by piano. This section is sandwiched between a guitar playing the main melody with string effects. There are sections that have a mid- Eastern feel and another with spacey synths. The overall foundation is based on a jazz sense of play, however, as the track continues for 10 minutes and features a lot of different lead sounds through its run-time.

The title track "Galactica" follows. It begins with a mellow sound led by electric piano. It builds in intensity as guitars take over the melody later with synths underlying everything creating a symphonic feel. "Slightly Inhuman" starts off with melodic piano and guitars creating a nice fusion sound. Everything builds creating a more rhapsodic sound. The pattern repeats. I really like this track for its emotional builds.

"Mirage Avenue" utilizes a clarinet and an acoustic guitar with the piano. Later, wordless vocals come in. This is a soft and lovely track with a pastoral sense that has a gypsy flair to it. "The Last King" starts off with a heavy riff and drums to match, again contrasting with the previous track. Synths carry the melody and add some great effects. This is a great closer that will keep you coming back to the album and finishing off the album on a high-note.

The album is mostly just straightforward rhythms with little progressive-ness to it, but the music is so well done, professional in both musicianship and production. The music is accessible, but because it is done so well, it gets high marks for that. There is a good amount of variety here with heavy rock and impressive jazz sections. If you are looking for a good mostly instrumental album that fuses rock and jazz, this is your album. If it were more progressive, it definitely could have got 5 stars, but it is mostly straightforward, but it is still interesting and enjoyable, and the production is stellar, so it gets 4 stars.

 Plays Lebowski by LEBOWSKI album cover Live, 2017
4.13 | 27 ratings

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Plays Lebowski
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

4 stars I was looking through the band's website trying to find out more information about the band, and then realised that they were showing an advertisement for a gig which took place four years ago, when they were performed with both Collage and SBB! They describe it as "Three bands, three generations and a shared passion for music" and it must have been an incredible night ? now if only someone had a recording, as SBB and Collage are definitely two of my very favourite Polish bands. Mind you, somehow I think I might be adding Lebowski to that list. As is implied by the album title, this is a live album, but strangely this is seven years on from their only other album to date, plus there have been a couple of singles. Much of the material on this 2017 album hasn't been released prior to this, but their site shows that they gig quite a lot, so it seems somewhat strange that there isn't more material to show for a band that have been together since 2002.

Instrumental, their debut album was music for an imaginary film, and this album is still very much in the soundtrack fashion, with sweeping keyboards and piano making way for dramatic guitar while the rhythm section keep it all together. I cannot believe I haven't come across Lebowski prior to this, as there is a togetherness and lightness in their music which is just wonderful. Poland has a great history of producing amazing bands, although many people don't seem to look past Riverside to see what else is in the scene for some reason, and Lebowski are certainly worthy of being recognised as producing some truly wonderful melodic progressive rock music. With both keyboard player Marcin Luczaj and guitarist Marcin Grzegorczyk knowing exactly how to either support each other or provide dynamic leads, while drummer Krzysztof Pakula is rarely content to provide simple fills and Marek Zak also showing that a bass should be far more than just keeping it all pinned, this is a wonderful introduction to Lebowski, and I only hope that we hear more soon. All progheads should be looking for this.

 Plays Lebowski by LEBOWSKI album cover Live, 2017
4.13 | 27 ratings

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Plays Lebowski
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by CeeJayGee

4 stars Lebowski Plays Lebowski is a live album of nine tracks where, rather unusually, only three tracks have previously been released. Two of the tracks, Icelandic and Cinematic come from their wonderful debut Cinematic released in 2010. Goodbye My Joy was released as a single in 2013. I have been searching the Web trying to find out what the band have been doing over the last seven years prior to this latest release but have little to report.

Although their styles differ, Lebowski remind me of The Cinematic Orchestra who are similarly capable of crafting exquisite melodies and whose frequency of releases has also been somewhat sporadic. The music of Lebowski is instrumental with occasional spoken Polish commentary. The music style is beautifully melancholic mellow jazz rock. There is subtle use of piano and keyboards with some beautiful trumpet and guitar solos. All nine live tracks are of high quality and I listened to the whole album on repeat for some time.

If all nine tracks were new releases then I would rate this five stars but given that a third of the album is live performances of previously released (but nevertheless beautiful) music I shall rate it a strong four stars. This is an album that deserves greater recognition because it will bring so much joy to so many.

 Cinematic by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.04 | 198 ratings

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Cinematic
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by ProgShine
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars LEBOWSKI is a Polish group founded in 2002, playing a wide spectrum of Progressive Music with sound landscapes.

So far they have released only one album called Cinematic (2010) and the band consider it to be 'music for a non-existent film'. Quite accurate, cause it is just like a film soundtrack.

Lebowski is formed by Marcin Grzegorczyk (guitars), Marcin Łuczaj (keyboards), Marek Żak (bass) and Krzysztof Pakuła (drums). And delivers pretty much rich and vast musical canvas where you have to focus and put your mind to picture the non-existent film. The album was recorded partially in one of the band member's apartment and for that reason I can say that the sound of Cinematic (2010) is quite good if you analyze the band limitations at that time.

The album is a good mix of Progressive Rock and atmospheric music where you can close your eyes and get involved in their music. To help create this environment, several voices of actual movies were used. Movies like '2001: A Space Odyssey', 'Gangsterzy I Filantropi', 'Hydrozagdka', 'Pamiętnik Znaleziony W Saragossie', 'Le Pacte Des Loups' and 'Bariera'. Aside that the album is completely instrumental with keyboards and guitars taking over the main roles most of the time. The only exceptions are the tracks '137 Sec.' and 'Old British Spy Movie' where Katarzyna Dziubak appears to do some ethereal vocals and to play a very nice violin.

The opening track 'Trip To Doha' has an initial drum beat that is pure 'Bullet The Blue Sky' from U2, but it's just a first moment. 'Cinematic' brings voices to our ears and it's quite emotional and pretty. Another good track from Cinematic (2010) is 'Iceland' (they have a video for it on Youtube).

The album is carried with lots of samples too, which helps to increase the ambience of their music.

The digipack is something that must be mentioned. The beautiful package comes with great pictures and the artwork is astonishing. The band that is worthy to be checked for sure!

 Cinematic by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.04 | 198 ratings

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Cinematic
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by aapatsos
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Undeniably your prog movie soundtrack

A lot of kind words, and not unjustifiably, have been written for Lebowski's first imaginary movie soundtrack. A journey through (mainly) European cinematography is this ~65 minute-instrumental album, and pays tribute to sounds of the past and present with some beautiful landscapes. The music here is relatively simple, however, incorporating progressive rock music in a lot of aspects, mainly the atmosphere and secondly the selective time signature breaks here and there.

The music can be better described as a filtration of a cinematic aesthetic through the undeniable influence of emotion from other Polish bands, e.g. Riverside, but also Hogarth-era Marillion. Warm, deep melodies, set at a low pace, dominate the entirety of this soundtrack. An interesting and rather intriguing characteristic of this record is that of visualisation; the listener is left to picture the imaginary landscapes created via the different instruments and sounds.

Flow-wise, the album starts off very strong with powerful melodies in the first three-four tracks but then flattens out to more expected tempos, before ending again on a high note. The music does not get any complex at any time, so this is not recommended to those looking out for an orgasm of odd-time signatures. I did enjoy the different themes of the album, from Doha to Paris, and the variation of instruments used to create it. On the cons side, I find it a bit longer than it could have been, but also a tad too simple e.g. a bit more variation in tempos would have helped it in terms of variety and engagement of the listener.

All considered, this is a beautiful album to listen through, made with real emotion and passion. My rating is 3.5 stars, expecting an even better follow up.

Many thanks to Radek, the band's manager, for making this available for review.

 Cinematic by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.04 | 198 ratings

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Cinematic
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by CCVP
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Simple, effective, beautiful and emotional: the art of Polish progressive rock

Poland is quite a mystifying place when comes to progressive rock. Since back when the country was under the oppressive Soviet veil and had all that official State paraphernalia to spy and diminish liberties and free thought, music flourished in communist Poland to the point of exporting acts to neighboring Czechoslovakia, where producing and playing such kind of music would grant you a considerably long stay in one of the country's most lovely places for socially inadequate behavior.

Music from that period of said Western Slavic country (considering mostly the major progressive acts such as Niemen, SBB and Mark Grechuta) aren't as energetic as the Western European counterparts, both from Continental Europe and the British Isles, but carried some emotional depth and beauty few could equal in the free world. They also managed to keep their music somewhat simpler than the main acts from our side of the Iron Fence.

With the communist regime's dismantlement during the late 1980's and early 1990's and with the influx of new influences, Poland found itself as being a hot spot for a genre of progressive rock that is met nearly with contempt by some today for arguably being stationed in the same place for the past 30 years: neo prog. Yes, if you don't know yet, neo prog (as well as the bands behind its sound, such as Pink Floyd) is pretty big there, so much that most Polish bands listed here (that are from after the wall went down, of course) ARE neo prog bands and even those that are not are deeply influenced by neo prog (just to mention some of the most well know of them, Riverside started only because some headbangers that played in death metal bands found out they both liked Marillion and Osada Vida has some obvious neo vibe to it). Like it or not, neo's deep emotional feelings, lush beauty and simplicity is all over Polish progressive rock.

So, what does any of this has to do with this fantastic act that I've been so kindly asked to review? Well, being Lebowski from that same Slavic country I've been talking about, it couldn't fall very far from where it came; the band does not play the mentioned genre of progressive rock that emerged during the 1980's, but as said before, its influence is stretched all over Poland. Lebowski, however, manged to stray away from cliches and well-know places in progressive rock and went for the higher road, with something else added: simplicity; indeed, they managed to put together an album that not only emotional and beautiful, but also were able to make it easy to listen and relate to, even for people outside progressive rock circles. They've managed to fulfill Shakespeare's saying brevity is the soul of wit, creating an opus that is both able to reach for progressive rock fans with its intricate musical build-up and outsiders with their simple, but effective approach to it, much like Mariusz Duda managed to do in his side project Lunatic Soul.

Another favorable point for them is the fact that there are no vocals in their album, something that, in my opinion, just accents their music even more. I also believe that there would be some difficulty in finding the right kind of voice, someone with the appropriate vocal abilities to fill in and fit their style. Another upside to the lack of vocals (even though there are some minor vocal lines in 137 sec.) is that Lebowski's music fits very well with their premise, which is create a soundtrack for a non- existent film, as well as an homage to Polish film and world-wide cinema (hence the album's title, Cinematic); such intentions are accentuated with a series of movie quotations / cuts that appear throughout the album, being most of them Polish movies since the chief intention is take a bow for Polish cinema in general, and there's even camera roll by the end of the album.

As for the instrumentalists and compositions themselves, I must say that I do like what I hear, a lot. First, because nothing here is unnecessary. As I mentioned before, Lebowski keeps it simple and effective, making every melody line and every instrument fit just right with each other. Second, even though most of the time the guitar or keyboards stay at the forefront of the band's sound, neither the bass or the drums get behind, they all merge together in the music, complementing whoever has the spotlight; and I mean spotlight here in a very broad way, because there is no real shining piece or mind blowing solos, just one instrument that is leading the melody. Third, all music evolves as a whole, everything has a meaning and a purpose.

Rating and Final Thoughts

Lebowski is, for me, one of those bands I would never be able to meet if it wasn't for the prog community and aggressively searching for new things to listen to. Their album, in spite of being excellent and being easily to relate to, unfortunately has no place in today's music business, as it happens with the majority of progressive rock bands. The fact that they sound original, thus can't be quite compared to anybody for that, don't help either. Even so, they fight on, creating great music.

Nonetheless, however great their debut opus might be, I feel that it doesn't quite reach the high level that I regard for masterful albums. That's no derogatory thing, though, Cinematic is impressive regardless of that. Indeed, I think it would appeal to all progressive rock fans I know as it has appealed to myself for their touching art rock. For that, I believe that this album's rating is four stars.

As a final note, I would like to thank Radek Ratomski for allowing me to know more about this impressive band and letting me have the privilege of reviewing their work. I am truly thankful for this.

 Cinematic by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.04 | 198 ratings

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Cinematic
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

3 stars 3.5 stars. The description of the music these guys make sounded right up my alley so I took the plunge and have been listening to this for over a week. What I found after several days was that I really enjoyed it at the beginning but tired of it towards the end. It is kind of samey and long at almost 67 minutes. What I like about it is the atmosphere and heaviness. It's cool to hear the spoken words that pop up out of nowhere throughout this record. The sound seems like it's layered in the studio to my ears. It has lots of depth to it. Love the first three tracks and then it starts to go downhill for me and i'm done well before it's over. This is a Polish band who have gained a lot of praise for this instrumental album that is supposed to be film music for movies.

"Trip To Doha" is almost orchestral sounding to start then a beat with guitar takes over. Spoken words after 3 minutes then the piano leads before the guitar takes that role once again. "137 Seconds" opens with atmosphere with drums and more. Female vocal expressions join in around a minute. It's heavier before 2 minutes when the vocals stop. She's back as it settles again as contrasts continue. "Cinematic" opens with keyboards as a full sound kicks in right away. Nice heavy guitar too. It stops as horns (sampled) come in with vocal melodies. Spoken words follow. Keyboards are back then that heaviness. Great track ! Three excellent songs to open. "Old British Spy Movie" opens with piano and we get some sampled sax and real violin throughout. "Iceland" opens with picked guitar as a beat, piano then spoken words follow. The words will come and go. Nice bass late.

"Encore" has spoken words and a rich sound. Sampled accordion before 1 1/2 minutes. Female and male spoken words follow. The guitar becomes aggressive at one point. "Apertif For Breakfast" is mellow with a music box-like sound then a heavy rhythm takes over. The guitar solos over top then it's the piano's turn. It's heavy again after 4 1/2 minutes. Nice. "Spiritual Machine" has a good heavy sound to it until a calm arrives with samples after 2 minutes then it builds. "The Storyteller" features piano and atmosphere as spoken words join in. A change 4 1/2 minutes in with a plastic sounding beat and organ-like sounds. Then it kicks in. "Human Error" ends the album with spoken words after a minute and prominant guitar. Organ and percussion lead then the guitar returns.

There's so much here that I enjoy but not for over an hour. Take my rating with a grain of salt as i'm the only one to give this 3 stars so far, but this isn't a 4 star record in my world unless you cut it to my favourite 40 minutes.

 Cinematic by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.04 | 198 ratings

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Cinematic
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by lazland
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Lebowski is a project from Poland, originally conceived in 2005, but this debut was finally released in 2010. It is an instrumental work, albeit with voices and chants, and, as with many such works, the key to success is keeping the listener interested and challenged. This it succeeds in doing. It is described as the "soundtrack to a non-existent movie", and includes along the way all types of homage to the great and lasting art form.

Opener, Trip To Doha, opens up in a nice jazzy groove, before developing into a more "traditional" symphonic prog track. There are some nice guitar licks with a gentle synth background. The duduk is introduced as a very nice accompaniment giving a Mid Eastern feel, quite in keeping with the subject matter, and my only real gripe is that the track could have benefited a little more from this. Steve Hackett was, I feel, a little more successful in his last outing at creating such a mood.

137 sec. is next, and I love the Hammond Dulcimer played, which provides again a very welcome Asian/World feel to proceedings, together with a marvellous vocal performance by Kasia Dziubak providing a far more ethereal and mysterious feel to proceedings. Elsewhere, the moog is somewhat "by the numbers", but the bass and guitar riffs are nicely funky. When this track is adventurous and daring, it is very good indeed.

Cinematic is the title track, and a real highlight. It is vibrant and warm, with the keys, especially, moving out of a comfort zone and providing a challenging, but rewarding, listen. Think of a jazzy symphonic movement (the drums are especially good), and you are somewhere near the mark, and the sax and choral vocals simply add to the mellow and enjoyable feel of a very good piece of music, which never once loses the listener's attention, having more than enough signature changes to keep one interested.

Old British Spy Movie is a must for those of us who love the old "noir" films of the classic period. It captures the mood perfectly. The piano lead, especially, is full of mystery, and when Kasia Dziubak enters the fray with a magical and mournful violin, it just gets better. Add in some brass samples, a strong bass riff, and what you have here is a marvellous track which, again, pushes all of the right "mood buttons", with artful changes in tempo to keep you alert.

Iceland, apparently the oldest written track on the album, is a tribute to Zdzislaw Maklakiewcz and Roman Klosowski, two Polish actors of some fame in their homeland. Not knowing enough about them, I cannot really comment on how the track brings them to life, but I can say it is a pleasant track with nice symphonic sensibilities without ever being especially stretching, and includes a lovely piano solo.

Encore is a "French" track, and is suitably dark and complex in homage to that great nation's cinematic works. I like this track a great deal. The accordion is great and evokes the feel of the nation more than adequately, whilst the guitar solo, set against a very brooding synth riff, is very accomplished, and, at times, quite beautiful, especially some four & a half minutes in when the hairs are raised with a passage redolent of some of the best Mark Knopfler moments. It doesn't last long, but it is wonderful when it is there.

Aperitif For Breakfast (O.M.R.J.) is dense and jazzy and, to my ears, at the start, very reminiscent of some of the more tuneful and accessible latter-day Crimson music. There is a special mention here for Marcin Luczey's piano work and the lovely guitar lead by Marcin Grzegorczyk. Later on, the track develops into a very much Marillion-esque feel when Marek Zak and Krzysztof Pakula take to the fore with an immense rhythm section. The denouement is the closest the band come to a huge wall of sound, and it is very good indeed.

Spiritual Machine is my favourite track on the album. A dark, guitar led piece that transports us all into a futuristic film led by intelligent robots/machines/computers. It is almost doom- laden in parts, but Grzegorczyk's work immerses us in that world perfectly, together with intelligent use of machine voice effects. Most welcome, though, are the softer passages, ambient, pastoral, and beautiful amongst the gloom which portray a world far more complex than at first glance.

The Story Teller is, apparently, the track which changed the most during the recording period, and sets off at a light, pleasant, but unremarkably ambient pace, although I do like the very well played bass lead. There are also some nice French Horns included, but I think this is the one track where, mid to 2/3rd through, the attention does clearly wander, before the gloom is relieved somewhat by a heavier denouement.

Human Error is the closer, and the longest track on the album at just short of eight minutes long. I'm not sure whether this was aimed at the Robert Young film of the same name, but, if so, it does musically very well paint the picture of a conflict between the leads and their scheming boss. It is very broody and also very good. The lovely jazzy licks, featuring a beautiful oboe, take me to the place of the excellent 2011 King Crimson ProjeKct, and is very welcome.

The film reel clicking at the end is a fitting conclusion to this tribute to the movies. Alright, Anderson & Vangelis have done it before, but so what?

There is an eclectic mix of moods here. At turns broody, melancholic, bright, and beautiful, it is very rarely anything less than wholly engaging, and this is an album which is highly recommended to those of you who not only enjoy instrumental progressive music, but also those prepared to take a little bit of time to appreciate it.

Sit back, put it on, and enjoy. Four stars for this. An excellent addition to any thoughtful prog collection. Let's hope for more in the not too distant future, because I feel there is something even more special to come. At their best, pushing the boat out, they are quite excellent.

My thanks to the band for making the CD available for me to review.

 Cinematic by LEBOWSKI album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.04 | 198 ratings

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Cinematic
Lebowski Crossover Prog

Review by snobb
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars In a strange time when economical crisis news come as daily reports from battle fields,when Greeks attack their banks and ministries as enemies' bastions,when crazy guy somewhere on the North killing people around just to attract attention he's not happy with the world he lives in... this album is about beauty. I spent first week of new year listening to full discog of Albert Ayler - talented guy who started playing sax as if he would like to destroy the world,continued with marching orchestra and later was found dead in New York City's East River being just 34, a presumed suicide.Ok, it happened four decades ago but do you really think the world became better?

Lebowski self released debut is about beauty! I was born in great place but in bad time - world around was mostly grey with lot of red during annual May Day demonstrations.Almost everything different then grey was banned. The one among few things helped to survive was music from Polish radio I could listen without big problems - Polish border wasn't too far. Polish radio was like a window to the world - the music there was different I could hear around me - soulful,tasteful and... free. And - beautiful! I grew up listening Komeda and Tomasz Stanko, then - polish pop-jazz vocalists,later - Lady Punk. Czesalw Niemen turned my world around, SBB were my rock teachers.

A lot of time has gone but Polish music is still same - soulful,slightly melancholic and ... beautiful. From very first "Cinematic" chords I just returned back to my teens. Same feeling I have when driving hour after hour by night crossing Poland and listening "Trojka" night radio...

This album is not for your head but for your heart. Soundtrack for non-existent movie - this music is strong enough to become the basis for video line. Liquid density full of melancholy and Slavic soulful roots. Unfortunately my knowledge of Polish movies is too limited to give me the possibility to recognize where from comes one or another dialogue. I just see the ghost of Komeda under that late night sound, hear some world tunes and feel melancholy of French movies from 60s. And it's more than enough - as I already said this music is for your heart,not head...

Thanks to chris s for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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