THE BODY PARTS PARTY

I've been anticipating this album since being highly excited with their previous one. Their music has a special quality to it; tame-sounding yet loose in its structure, free and creative. This album, like its predecessor boasts great catchy rhythms and tunes and wonderful playing. There's definitely an improvement here in terms of sound and production; it seems to be clearer, richer and less vague. Moreover, the vocals seem to have a wider range of emotional expression than in the previous album.

The album presents an interesting concept of a party of the body parts which can symbolize personalities or a typical human behaviour. The opening song, Body, serves as the introduction of the "occasion" and the characters that participate. Already here I notice the shift from the rather dark sound of Three Seats behind A Triangle to this album; it is more straightforward in a way, heavier, more succinct and to the point (though still, the somewhat somber sound is still present). This is not to say that the complexity and intricacies are gone from the music, not at all; it is simply a change in the writing approach. The songs here seem to be more direct and get to the point quicker and are not continuous as it was in the previous album. Also a more bombastic sound is boasted here; more grandiose than their previous effort. However, continuing their style from before, there is big emphasis on creating a distinct mood; listen to the opening of Liver or the entire song Spine where the use of various synths sounds by Rafal backed by Bartek's rhythm guitar propel the pace of these songs, add a magic touch to them and build up a special sounding entourage. This particular style was a major part of their previous release and is even better sounding here due to the efficient and clear production. In fact the keyboards are responsible for a lot of the mood build-up throughout the album and are crucial to the Osada Vida sound. The bass played by Lukasz is very good and noticeable in its use, providing a well crafted basis to lie the melody and rest of the instruments upon. Adam on the drums provides highly energetic and exciting powerful rhythms as can be heard for example in the opening song.

The songs are varied as before, manifesting changing rhythms and showing clever arrangements, changing pace and feeling; thus showing, perhaps, the dynamics of the feelings of the personalities each organ portrays and emphasizing that they aren't stagnant and rigid, but rather, evolving and reacting living matter. I was expecting that each organ would get a very specific melody/theme/tune or a distinct atmosphere or style of playing, but that's not the case, though it doesn't mean there is no "personality" to each song, just not as individual as I thought. While this album is very appealing, I do think it's not as attractive or as compelling as 3 Seats. It is definitely better sounding but not as captivating as the previous album. That being said, it is a well done album, a wonderful heavy-prog/prog-metal experience, filled with lovely intricacies and beautiful melodic strokes. A definite recommendation for fans and newcomers alike.