BEYOND EXPRESSION

Slightly less frantic and a bit more challenging, Finch's second rounds off some of the sharp edges, but it's no less adventurous than the debut. The 20-minute "A Passion Condensed" will probably stand for all time as their defining masterpiece, its mood changes and structural layers revealing themselves after many attentive listens. Each passage merges easily into the next, showing Finch at the top of their game, each member completely dialed-in and making this huge piece work. "Scars On The Ego" smashes through next, standing as their heaviest-ever track. Based around a riff that feels like pure epic metal, the middle of the song settles into a hypnotic cosmic caress before erupting in a fury of sparks and fire (thanks to the wailing punishment keyboardist Cleem Determeijer and guitarist Joop Van Nimwegen dish out to their instruments). While the title of third track "Beyond The Bizarre" would seem to indicate a wilder ride ahead, it is simply 14 minutes of typical Finch. It bounces between mellow and manic, highlighted by a joyous lightning-speed workout from the stringed instrumentalists. The middle-to-end section of this bouncy piece gives Determeijer several minutes of spotlight time before a rather dramatic ending brings things to a close. Straight piano doesn't often convince in progrock-we're totally spoiled by Moogs, Hammonds, synths, Mellotrons and such, no?-- so this section of "Beyond The Bizarre" is a bit boring, offering the only real lull on the album. Not as direct as their first, nor as refined as their third, this can probably be considered the most challenging and eventful of the three Finch albums.