Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Perfect Beings - Perfect Beings CD (album) cover

PERFECT BEINGS

Perfect Beings

 

Crossover Prog

3.87 | 425 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

UMUR
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars "perfect_beings" is the debut full-length studio album by US progressive rock act Perfect Beings. The album was released through My Sonic Temple in February 2014. My Sonic Temple is also the name of guitarist Johannes Luleyīs recording studio in Los Angeles, so I guess "perfect_beings" qualifies as an independent release. Perfect Beings was founded by Johannes Luley and lead vocalist Ryan Hurtgen. The two later recruited drummer Dicki Fliszar, bassist Chris Tristram, and keyboard player Jesse Nason to complete the lineup. Some of the guys in the band have played with some pretty prolific artists like Bruce Dickinson and Slash and itīs obvious from the get go, that these guys are professionals. Skilled songwriters and skilled musicians.

The lyrics and imagery to "perfect_beings" are loosely based on the 2013 sci-fi novel "Tj and Tosc" by Suhail Rafidi. The band felt that the books post-apocalyptic sci-fi theme suited their music perfectly.

The music on "perfect_beings" is a contemporary version of progressive rock. It features both complex progressive sections, melodic atmospheric sections, some psychadelic tinged sections, a slight jazz touch in some sections, and more mainstream oriented catchy sections too. Itīs a pretty eclectic take on the style, and while Perfect Beings are not allergic to inspiration from the 70īs greats of the progressive rock genre, this album generally sounds very little like a retro progressive rock release. Instead weīre met with a fresh take on how to play progressive rock, thatīs easy to listen to and quite memorable too, but not devoid of progressive rock complexity. If I had to make a reference it would be to the Brits in Frost*. More in approach than in sound and overall style though. Perfect Beings are for example far more organic sounding. A band like Porcupine Tree is also a valid reference.

The material are varied, quite intriguing, and "perfect_beings" overall features a natural dynamic flow. While the songwriting is definitely one of the albumīs greatest assets, the musicianship and the organic sound production are also assets that make "perfect_beings" a great listening experience. Itīs an album that reeks high class in all departments.

Ryan Hurtgen doesnīt have the most distinct sounding voice, but he is a skilled singer with a pleasant delivery. His melody lines are memorable and his harmonies spot on. Thereīs a Beatlesque sound to some of those harmonies and melodies (especially in the opening track "The Canyon Hill"), thatīs soothing to the ears, but as with the rest of the music the vocal department is pretty varied (check out the robotic vocoder vocal part on "Bees and Wasps" for an example of that).

Some eclectic progressive rock releases are all over the place and lack the incredibly important stylistic consistency thatīs the glue which binds an album together and presents it as a release with flow. Thankfully thatīs not the case with "perfect_beings" which, while it is eclectic and challenging for the listener, doesnīt stick out in every direction. You are never in doubt that itīs the same band playing, and as mentioned above the concept lyrics and the way the tracklist is constructed provide the album with a nice organic flow. Itīs an album designed to give the listener a pleasant listening experience. Itīs a debut album thatīs too professional and of too high quality to just be called promising, so Iīll go as far as to call it excellent. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR | 4/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this PERFECT BEINGS review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.