PROGGER

A wonderful instrumental jazz-funk-prog feast!

Progger, what a name for a band, a band led by talented Brian Donohoe who wrote and arranged all the tracks here, performed by a nice selection of guest musicians that together put their personal grain of sound so the album is full of different textures, nuances and rhythms that can please almost anyone's ears. Scattering is a challenging album released in 2016 in which we will be pleased by that extraordinary blend of genres, so we can find here prog rock, jazz fusion and funk, among others.

The 46 minutes of the album are divided in 10 tracks. It kicks off with 'Prelude', a one-minute intro that leads to 'Transit'. The intro has some electronic elements that remind me of some SNES games or something like that. Then with Transit piano first and then drums let us know the band will offer a jazzy feeling. In a review I read a description of the album's sound like this: 'It is like Snarky Puppy but proggier', man, how accurate! That phrase might actually sum up a bit Progger's sound. Of course, if you are not familiar with Snarky Puppy you will not understand.

The use of brass section is amazing, and how it gets along with guitars, bass and synths is wonderful. 'Exquisite' offers first a laid-back sound with bass, drums and synth, the feeling is a bit funky and then when brass enters the jazzy atmosphere becomes more obvious. At minute two the song explodes and becomes rockier and more aggressive, then it returns to a softer form and so on. Its lunatic final minute is simply outstanding! 'Big Trouble' is a nice example of that relation between jazz fusion and progressive rock. I love the bass sound and of course, the use of keyboards here. There is a moment when a guitar has its share and creates a cool rock-fusion sound. This is another great track!

A one-minute 'Interlude' appears next, dividing the album in halves. It leads to 'Scattering' which is an exquisite track that starts soft but little by little progresses, building up different structures and offering a never-ending feast of atmospheres. A new kind of mid-east sound appears with 'Traveler' which let us know the band and musicians have a lot to offer and are not stuck in the same sound, so in every single track we can find new elements that make the music very diverse and quite interesting. In the same song we will listen to tunes completely different, including a masterful synth solo and a sensual use of brass.

'Endorphin' confirms how good the band is and also reaffirms their skills as composers and performers and the diversity of sounds their music has. *'Postlude' is a 19-second track that leads to 'Werewolf', the final song of the album. This track has a rhythm that sounds like a song from Velvet Revolver, but with a jazzy sound. The music here is rockier, more aggressive so the band decided to finish the album with all their energy. Great! I highly recommend this album!

Enjoy it!