EFFLORESCE

The music offered is really close to prog metal like the music played by "Riverside" or "Porcupine Tree" of course. Some wild and heavy riffs, turned instantly into soft melody for a (little) while is how "Catalyst" is built. No way to play this album at night to get asleep!

The sound is exploding at each moment; and your ears haven't the single moment to relax while listening to "One Day all this Could Be Yours" (well actually the closing ten seconds will bring you these.). No wonder though, with three guitar players it is almost normal to get such a powerful sound.

Amongst the first three short tracks, only the opener "I Am The Morning" is featuring some spacey breaks (but just for half of it).

The first long number sounds more as PT than PT themselves. It features melancholic vocal passages, repetitive riffs and lots of off-beat rhythms. A middle and chaotic section produces so many decibels that you need to check out the volume of your music player before starting to listen to it. This "Massive Bereavement" is not for everybody. Hang on tightly.

"Amputee " although not a lullaby is on the more melodic side; you know like .One of the best song from "Effloresce". More accessible and more "ears-friendly". This type of song is definitely going to bring this band on the radios and will open them to new fans if they are able to write more catchy songs like this. My fave here.

The first moment to breathe is the short and spacey instrumental "Unravel". Not necessarily very creative nor interesting.

For our peace of mind, the last part of this album is featuring "quieter" songs of which "Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs" is brilliantly built : starting (and ending) like a tranquil (!) piece it is growing crescendo and the guitar work is extremely pleasant. The drumming work is also impressive during the heavier parts. Another highlight IMO (but I'm not keen on the super heavy sounds of "Massive Bereavement" to be honest).

Same sort of treat with "Saturday Morning Breakfast Show" but the heavy sounds are destructive again, while the quiet part is not so good than during "Women Who Love.". Just average. "Long Forgotten" is the third long number in a row and is fully on the soft side while the closing "Breed Siamese" sounds more as a filler.

This is an interesting album. Not truly spacey to say the least; it is more on the metal side. So, have this in mind if you would like to enter into "Oceansize" 's catalogue. This album is also extremely long and could have been shortened by fifteen minutes or so to make it more attractive.

Three stars.

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