XIII

This is the first released of Finnish band Nurkostam, a project if three musicians who are willing to gain more recognition and to share their music through the world, which is always something to thank. So in 2005 this record entitled "XIII" saw the light, featuring six compositions that make a total time of 31 minutes; the songs here range from 3 to 7 minutes

The first one is "Iscream", a three-minute introduction that has a heavy prog sound, similar to Anekdoten, with some King Crimson hints, but don't judge too quick, because I may say this is not really the Nurkostam sound. "Dome" is a longer composition, with cool guitars and a much softer rhythm; nice bass lines and vocals for the first time. This also has a very nice keyboard sound as background, and the feeling is a bit nostalgic, and even of sorrow. The second part is especially good, with some spacey sounds and a great guitar solo. Very good track!

"Alone" is almost like a ballad with a very melancholic sound, later it turns into a kind of indie, alternative, mellow neo-prog song, nice but not the best. "Between" is one out of two seven-minute track of this album. It starts slowly with a keyboard sound which little by little is increasing in volume, and some elements are being added while the time passes. When guitar appears produces a very soft and melancholic sound. Then it suddenly stops and a couple of seconds later keyboard enter once again but this time creating a different sound, accompanied by drums and vocals, there is a sensation of mystery in this track. This is one of Nurkostam's best tracks, and I am not only talking about this EP.

"Madness" is the other shorter track, and starts with that heavy prog sound than the first song had. However the vocals and guitars here give it a different direction, creating some tension and a peculiar mood. Cool bass lines and great keyboard appearances. And finally we have "Archie" which is the longest track of the record. A clockwise sound that prevails for some minutes as background, while a melancholic atmosphere is created by a repetitive guitar, gentle vocals and bass notes. This track is a tricky one, because you can either get interested and hypnotized by its sound, or getting bored after a couple of minutes, but I would suggest to stay until the very end, it is a nice song, believe me.

This is a great debut EP, showing some of Nurkostam's finest moments, and the different styles they offer, you will have 30 minutes of nice music here, though evidently it is not the most original or memorable I have ever listened. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

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