SEATED

A jumping off point for the brothers Coniguliaro and their Saugerties friend, guitarist Alex Verbickas, I see Sun Colored Chair as another format in which the Coniguliaro brothers are honing their skills for the next level--like tennis' Penn Circuit or ITF: the predecessors to the big time. I hear a lot of influences from the angular, complex side of progressive rock and jazz rock--King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Gentle Giant, Rush, and even The Cardiacs, but very little that feels "finished" or fully developed; they're doing a lot of experimenting with form, structure, and collaborative timing here, culminating in three longer, more mature undertakings at the end of the album.

1. "Nocturnal Blue" (1:57) great little opener--putting on display the trio's commitment to complex, multi-part, multi- tempoed structures--this one quite well put together; a complete masterpiece. (5/5)

2. "Leave" (2:23) has a bit of a punk rock feel with some Cardiacs and XTC influence. Not drummer Ben Coniguliaro's best. (Not sure I like the plasticky sound of his drum heads.) (4.375/5)

3. "Buddy's Bone" (2:52) nice display of band unity with some rather complex syncopation and time signature changes. (8.75/10)

4. "Distilled Neutrality" (4:00) 80 seconds of rather aimless noodling steps into a metal world with authority and solemnity. Reminds me a bit of Allice in Chains "Black Hole Sun" but then at 2:45 it moves into a little more of a Crimsonian motif for a stay before returning to the BHS motif for the finishing minute. (8.75/10)

5. "Sun Bubble" (2:08) very nice, melodic instrumental. (4.6667/5)

6. "Seated" (2:59) like the previous song, tandem acoustic guitars intertwining their fast-picking with the bass and drums. Then the guitars turn electric with some twang and the bass lines heavier as we traipse into what sounds like WHO and CARDIACS territory. Nice return to acoustic dominance for the third minute and then blending in with the electrics. (8.875/10)

7. "Feet Honey" (4:23) another song that feels more like a whole band experimental étude--heading in the direction of jazz-rock fusion artists MONOBODY. (8.5/10)

8. "Mystic Woe" (3:35) a soft, dreamy start that conjures up reminders of NEEDLEPOINT, ANTHONY PHILLIPS, and even some jazz-pop artists from the 1980s. I like the guitar and bass's fretless note slides. Quite lovely. (9/10)

9. "Bovine" (1:11) heavier, more abrasive, and, thankfully, tighter étude. (4.5/5)

10. "Lordlegs" (2:59) one the album's best songs. (9.25/10)

11. "Eye" (3:39) another great song that has a feel like a 1960s or 70s French film theme song; very melodic and upbeat. (9.25/10)

12. "Harmless" (1:14) full on XTC! No holds barred! I love it! (4.5/5)

13. "Die Cycle" (2:25) solid song with some tough twists and turns, all done at breakneck speed, but with melody and interest. (4.375/5)

14. "Colorless Streak" (7:17) some very complex chord progressions performed with perfected timing by the trio (over multiple tracks, I'm assuming). They even get very YES/RUSH heavy starting in the fourth minute--which feels like a practice/warmup session for the more melodic motif that begins at the end of the sixth minute. Nice Steve Howe runs at the end there! (13.5/15)

15. "Sunsnap" (7:35) an excellent sound palette proceeding to cover some very lovely melodic chord and key progressions. There are some very KING CRIMSON-like elements to the constructs here but far more melodic the KC ever gets. The "pop and rock" BLACK-MIDI-like fifth minute is very inventive, but then it turns into far more standard prog-pop song (one that is begging for vocals!). A top three song. (14/15)

16. "Daunting Abyss" (3:56) more ANT PHILLIPS-like pretty music that is multiple guitar based. I like the one guitarist's attempt to do some Hawaiian note bending. So many elements here remind me of other band's music but all are so fresh in the way they're put together. (9.333/10)

Total Time 54:33

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of modern progressive rock music--al instrumental. A fascinating diary of the growth and development of a group of very motivated young musicians with some great vignettes and even a few great, fully- developed prog songs at the end there.