SPACE CHRONO

As one might guess from the title of the album itself, French eclectic progressive rock artist Sébastien Gramond's sixth album 'Space Chrono' takes the man's music down a much more psychedelic route than the last couple of albums did. Having been introduced to the music of this consistently prolific multi instrumentalist's music through his overtly spacey and drug-addled debut aptly titled 'Trip', 'Space Chrono' returns halfway back to this sound, although Gramond's more conventional sound is still very prevalent here. What results is an album that doesn't quite capture the campy charm of 'Trip' and isn't nearly as memorable as an album, and while certainly not being a great album all its own, has a few interesting moments that will make the album a worthy venture for anyone interested in the style.

Up to this point in my experience with the music of Sébastien Gramond, 'Trip' may not have been the greatest thing he has done, but I would say it was the most memorable, in the sheer excess it went to giving a near-perfect definition of what psychedelic rock sounds like, minus the obvious production problems it suffered. While 'Space Chrono' still has production issues to contend with, there is a sound here that is a clear step up from the garage-demo sound that the earliest psychedelic album had. With this however, there are much less psychedelic, scacey effects here; instead a much more to-the-point rock style is employed. Unfortunately, that can make the drawn-out instrumentation feel a bit dry at points. The extended closing track 'Space Machine' is the clearest example of this.

Of course, there are the more typical rock songs by Gramond here that I've generally associated with classic rock in the past. These are generally simple, bluesy tracks that can sometimes sound like an indie demo version of the Grand Funk Railroad; not a great sign in my books. However, while the drawn out 'jams' here can sound quite dry at times, they are also the highlight of the record, giving something new to Gramond's ever-growing discography. Once again, Gramond proves that the guitar is where his skill lies, giving some skillful displays over the relatively bland backing work, all performed by Sébastien himself.

'Space Chrono' has not been so impressive as a work, as it feels sort of lifeless even when compared to some of his other works which incorporate the generic rock work. LIke every album thus far he has released though, there is the clear picture that his skill as a recording artist is improving, however. Recommended to fans of classic rock-influenced music, as well as jam music.

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