QUIET EUPHORIA

For a band that was formed as far back as 2001, the A Coruña based AMOEBA SPLIT from the Galician region of Spain has hardly been the most prolific artist in the world of progressive rock but one thing is for sure and that is that although this band is slow to deliver the goods, quality is always a top priority and disappointment isn't even in the possibility pile. It took the band nine years to formulate it's 2010 debut "Dance Of The Goodbyes" and another five for the sophomore offering "Second Split" to emerge. As the band has emerged as one of the 21st century's most revered Canterbury jazz acts that mines the retro sounds of the classic prog years and reinterprets them with modern twists and turns, Canterbury fans have been chomping at the bit for a new release and at long last on the 7th of April, 2023, AMOEBA SPLIT will release its third album after 22 years of existence.

QUIET EUPHORIA comes seven years after "Second Split" and pretty much picks up where that album left off without missing a beat. What's changed after all this time is the lineup (sort of). While "Second Split" featured six official members with a large number of session musicians, on QUIET EUPHORIA the official count is up to eight members with no guests on board. The band's sound has always revolved around the jazzy keyboard tradeoffs of Alberto Villarroya López and Ricardo Castro Varela only now there is another top player on board and that is IagoMouriño who only sat in as a part-time guest last time around. The keyboard sounds are expansive and cover all the expected retro sounds ranging from the moog, Hammond organ, electric piano, vibraphone as well as good old-fashioned traditional piano. Add to that, band has retained the heavy brassy jazz sounds as well with stealthy action from saxophones (tenor and soprano), the trumpet and flugelhorn.

As with the previous album QUIET EUPHORIA follows the classic vinyl years' playing time, in this case just a smidge over 40 minutes. Fortified with six feisty tracks, this time around the band upped the tempos a bit making this album rock a lot more than the rather dreamy mid-tempo processions of "Second Split." What remains constant on all of AMOEBA SPLIT releases is a keen perfectionist detail to the compositional fortitude, an obvious love of retro classic prog which in this case is firmly rooted in the world of the idiosyncratic world of jazz-fusion that emerged in the English city of Canterbury and was propelled onto the world's stage by the likes of Soft Machine, Matching Mole, Caravan, Supersister, Moving Gelatine Plates, National Health and Hatfield & The North. AMOEBA SPLIT is very faithful to those that came before but offers enough innovative takes on the style to make this a refreshing musical experience that builds on the traditions of the last half century.

This is an all instrumental affair like "Second Split" and given the lack of vocals to offer the whimsical side of the Canterbury Scene, AMOEBA SPLIT instead offers classically infused jazz-fusion workouts that tackle a wide swath of the progressive jazz-rock world while keeping that Canterbury warmth alive and kicking. The album's title track starts things out slow and brooding with a sombre piano roll belying the jazz-rock to come but once the horn section kicks in the larger than life interplay of brass and multiple keyboards display a fascinating interplay of musical motifs playing together to form a larger than the sum of parts brilliance. The album remains in an upbeat mood for the majority fo the playing time and it's not until the closing "No Time For Lullabies" that the mood dials down a little and offers a more sombre piano-based approach that follows suit from the opening aspects of the album.

Seven years is a long time to wait for a band to unleash its next chapter of musical masterworks but QUIET EUPHORIA was definitely worth the wait with excellent classic Canterbury sounds brought to life in the modern world with an impeccable production and mixing effort and a wide range of tones and timbres that perfectly decorate the Canterbury jazz-rock underpinnings. It's clear that this style of classic prog is in no danger of dying out any time soon and AMOEBA SPLIT has been instrumental in breathing new life into this most beloved style of progressive jazz-rock. QUIET EUPHORIA is a brilliant instrumental album that will get your retro prog juices flowing. Excellent! Will we really have to wait another seven years for the next album? Lord i hope not!