VICTORIA AND THE HARUSPEX

The Red Masque's first full-length album is dominated by the 24 minute epic Haruspex, a twisted music box journey into the Red Masque's wild RIO territory. To be honest, I think the band here were trying to run before they could walk; as opposed to being a packed and tightly composed and cohesive piece which really merits its long running time, Haruspex ends up devolving into jazzy jamming in an embarrassing "I hope you like our new direction" Spinal Tap sort of way in its midsection. The album is somewhat salvaged by the sorter tracks, but I still think this is a step down from the very promising debut EP.