XIII

Nurkostam

Neo-Prog

2.89 | 16 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams

Some of the songs on this debut EP may have caused the inclusion of Nurkostam in the neo-prog subgenre to which I don't think this band really belongs.

At this point those three Finnish guys hadn't likely decided yet which kind of music make and each of them seems to be bringing his own influences to the music's sound.

What results is an "eclectic" disk with very different songs on which the principal reference seems to be King Crimson like on the starter "iscream", but I see some Canterbury, too. "Dome is probably neo-prog and on "Alone" the vocals and the melody remind me to Procol Harum. The fact is that the melodies are strong even if sometimes hidden below the dissonances added to the arrangements.

"Between" has a keyboard/organ intro that can remind to PinkFloyd, Tangerine Dream or even Steve Hillage's Arzachel. After the intro when the vocals start it's totally different. The voice in this case reminds to Robert Wyatt. The kind of music of which Rock Bottom is made. This is what I mean when I say that each of the three guys is likely bringing in his own musical tastes. The resulting mixture is very pleasant. It's a coincidence that I have listened first to "-C-" then to the debut, this EP has been a surprise. This is a great song.

The short "Madness" is quite a follow-up to the previous track but it's uptime and more rocking.

The last song "Archie" is opened by a clock, a slow guitar harping and deep bass. Dark as Radiohead can be, the first thing that I notice is the excellent production. The song itself has a dissonant melody that makes it dark, but again I think more to Robert Wyatt.

Mentioning other band doesn't mean that Nurkostam are copying. It's only a way to describe the music that I hear, better than writing down chords and signatures in my opinion. The radio speech interlude is hypnotic.

What to say more? I really liked this EP, also in the vinyl era for its length, like "-C-" it would have been considered a full album. I see that I'm the first to rate it so high, I can be wrong, but I honestly think that the fourth star is deserved.

octopus-4 | 4/5 | 2011-8-5

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Share this NURKOSTAM review

Social review comments () BETA

Review related links

Send comments to octopus-4
Report this review (#497607)
Buy NURKOSTAM music online with PA partners
Show all NURKOSTAM MP3/Stream
Go to NURKOSTAM page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
Go to XIII page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
Search the Forum for NURKOSTAM related discussions