DIALECT [AKA: WILL EXIST FOREVER]

Interesting début effort by this Brazilian act, and fascinating in itself to come across an effort that basically has been 18 years in the making, the instrumental features mostly laid down in 1990 with some additional features and vocals added in 2008.

The short, concise compositions of this band will remind many of King Crimson, at least on a superficial level. The quirky, swirling, subtly dissonant guitars is the main reason for that, at times reminding so much of early 80's King Crimson that one might suspect this band had gotten hold of some previously unrecorded material from that era of Fripp's output.

At times that is. As most of the tracks on this disc also adds in additional elements to the proceedings. Eastern-tinged melodic flavours runs like a red thread throughout this album, first and foremost provided by the guitar. In the mellower passages distinctly psychedelic tinged echoing guitar licks is a common feature, and there's a few nods in the direction of 80's new wave rock music to be found too. While some of the more simplistic efforts have more of a blues foundation, where the bass and drums in particular makes me think of Robin Trower's mid 70's efforts.

The fretless bass underscores the guitars pretty nicely throughout, with a distinct melodic sound that often adds a slight jazz impression to these efforts, and the steady, energetic drums adds impact and momentum but also adds in some quirky drum rolls and rhythms when suitable.

The main weakness on this production are the vocals, somewhat unmelodic and accented, and while sticking to more of a spoken word performance on the handful of tracks that are non-instrumental they do distract, first and foremost on Animal. The Portuguese version of that number, featured as a bonus track, is a much more interesting affair due to the partial elimination of that weakness.

All in all an interesting album, and one that should interest those who might fancy a tight, quirky band exploring an eclectic art rock universe.