PROGRESSION BY FAILURE

"I was drawn to this CD when I read Ivan Melgar´s glowing review and, after repeated listenings, I can say he is right on the mark!" wrote colleague Tarcisio Moura when etching his review into the PA monument. Well, I can only concur wholeheartedly! Thank you Ivan, you introduced us to a phenomenal debut album that has been causing a series of tremors in my recent prog landscape and perhaps even the winner of the best 2009 release. Yes, kids, this is a shocker that encompasses all the traditions of past glories while infusing ultra-modern textures and vibrant atmospheres.

After a brief electronic swoop that stamps this as vintage 2009, "The Dialog with a Selfish" embarks on a thunderous all-instrumental journey that has one man band leader Nicolas Piveteau unleashing his phenomenal talent on a battery of keyboards, laying down the directional bass and the escorting drums. The synthesizers in particular can be both texturally cubic like Richard Barbieri or supremely soloist like Tomas Bodin or Par Lindh, for example. Nicolas' piano playing is of note as well, very elegant and refined in a neo-classical sense when needed. A tremendous entrance to say the least! "Memories from the Future" has a fanfare mellotron embrace that will knock your socks off, the slippery synth rolling atop the fluffy choir clouds and that ultra cool piano that alters the mood on contact. The romping bass swings delightfully while the organ shows pure bliss, in fact Piveteau reminds me a lot of Olov Andersson of Grandstand fame (a great Swedish band), tons of keys and no sight of guitar anywhere.

The spectacular beauty of "The Solitude of Winter" has all the class of past glories, a drop dead gorgeous melody hammered out on piano that would make Wakeman, Fritz or van der Linden blush with envy. It's something one could listen to forever, romantic, ponderous, melancholic, poignant and heartfelt. The trumpet synth solo only increases the sheer magnificence, you have to hear this only once to fall hopeless entranced. After such a lovely escapade, Piveteau returns with a gloomier epic, "Desperate Anger" a dozen minutes of controlled fury with its insistent theme, jack-booted by a resilient bass and some savvy electronic orchestrations, almost like a soundtrack to some zesty sci-fi action flick. The tone gets even heavy and sweaty with brutal machine shop synths steamrolling mercilessly, a stellar slab of gleaming high-tech prog, twirling, careening, slashing and crashing with evocative splendor. Often for me in describing my fave genre, prog is a audio version of cinema where the listener can create its own virtual dreams and this fact is perfectly ensconced here as a mindscape of infinite freedom. Music should be inspiring and this stuff is.

"Talion" is a revisit of more grandiose themes, a more organic and vibrant JM Jarre/Vangelis/ TDream with tons of mellotron, a divine and urgent synth bass and some memorable impressionist flavors. Again we have the perfect balance between modern and classical, between electronic and symphonic, always with that "je ne sais quoi" edge. Not many musicians have the balls to finish of their labour of love with a 22 minute finale, but since 44 minutes have gone by faultlessly, why not go for the jugular! The title cut contains 22 minutes and 44 seconds of sheer genius that ultimately confirms this as a 2009 masterpiece, a wondrously intense piano waltzes sensuously into the audio brain, a timeless synthesizer and a steady pulse slowly weave their charm and hypnotize, medicate and heal the wounds of daily life. I did not expect such a brilliant piece of plastic and I am blown away as I rarely need only one run through to go gaga because contrary to popular opinion, I consider myself quite demanding in terms of prog.

There are structural similarities with Anthony Phillips' genial "Slowdance" and some Oldfield hints (Yes, Ivan, Tubular Bells is right) but this remains beautiful music, sensuous and sultry, evocative and reflective. The ability to foxily decorate with some colossal choir mellotron patches only increases the feverish adulation. Exactly half way through, there is a bass and drum excursion that while simplistic, still conjures deep new avenues for Piveteau's to flex his creative muscles. A magnificent ride is in the offing. I don't care if it's a debut disc (in my opinion, within recent progressive music, they are often the best anyway), it does not deserve to be intellectually belittled by its nativity and fully meriting a top score. If Nicolas has more to offer next time, heaven help us! Thank you Ivan

5 prog pacifiers