PETRICHOR

1. "Petrichor" (11:28) folk-picked acoustic guitar with nature sounds opens this one before Victor Miranda-Martin joins in with his singing voice.I like the start here. It's quite BEATLES-esque. At 3:50 some metal power chords enter and take over. Hard to believe these drums are all programmed and computer-generated. A dreamy Thomas Thelen sound palette is employed while I am also filled with reminders of bands like VON HERTZEN BROTHERS, VOLA and KLONE (without the djenty guitars). (18.75/20) 2. "The Nest of Evil" (8:43) a little of the spacious, mysterious side of STEVEN WILSON represented here--at least until the Buddy GUY-like bluesy guitar in the third minute. This quickly morphs into an ever-shape-shifting piece-- not unlike, again, the works of prolific German solo artist, T (Thomas Thelen)--though never as dense or complex as Thomas' work (one of the things that repells me from thoroughly enjoying his work). Ends with a kind of "Machine Messiah" feel. (17.5/20)

3. "Snivel by the Pond" (7:36) orchestral percussion and nicely picked folk guitar support this rather cinematic opening even being joined by clarinet. Then things quiet down to leave only a classical guitar and Victor singing gently in a breathy upper register voice. Clarinet returns to supplant voice for a minute before Victor's ethereal, almost eerily ghost-like voice returns for the second verse. In the sixth minute a carnival-esque sound palette takes over--still sounding quite cinematic even classical (in a Tim Burton/Danny Elfman-kind of way). By the time we get to the seventh minute it's pretty much turned all traditional European street music. Nice! (14/15)

4. "Terence" (8:01) orchestral swoons followed by acoustic guitar with tuned percussion instruments as Victor's gentle voice enters. As it builds, between vocal passages, there's a little NOT A GOOD SIGN feel to this one-- symphonic yet rockin'--while the soft, pastoral multi-voiced vocal passages have a very engaging Genesis/FROST* feel to them. In the seventh minute we get into some really heavy, almost-metal work (with some machine gun kick drumming!) Again, the FROST* comparisons are warranted. Nice song! (14/15)

5. "Abyssal Bloom" (14:01) the first five-plus minutes of this song are an exercise in djenty guitar soundscapes with some STEVEN WILSON-ness--especially the creepy, high pitched ethereal vocals. In the sixth minute the music takes a radical turn: toward eerie cinematic again. (Again Danny Elfman or Tim Burton would be your best comparisons.) And then, in the ninth minute, to a very sparse landscape with very delicate, beautiful THOM YORKE-like vocals backed by minimal piano notes. In the twelfth minute the soundscape ramps up with loud tremolo electric guitar (kind of MONO or MAUDLIN OF THE WELL style) as Victor and MIDIed piano continue singing in their beautifully na've voice and melody despite being almost buried in the sonic mix. It's quite a dichotomy the mix between the urgent and insistent guitars and the calm and relaxed vocal and melody. So cool! My favorite song on this album of great music and songs. (29/30)

Total Time 49:49

It is still, for me, difficult to believe that the music of this album is all generated by one man (and his computer). The music is quite good, complex and nuanced, while bridging a kind of pastoral, cinematic world with that of a kind of ALCESTian Dream Pop--often at the same time.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music--one that does exactly what progressive rock is supposed to do when it's at its best.

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