BASIC COMMUNICATION

I was so impressed with their first album and then I heard that a second was finally in the offing, I eagerly awaited the arrival and then... I was somewhat disappointed, sure all the ingredients of the XINEMA sound were present but the freshness of the first album was missing... Over the 12 tracks of DIFFERENT WAYS each track was brief and one was left to rue the missed opportunities of development. Here on BASIC COMMUNICATION the development is present but it becomes couched in wooliness and waffle.

I hoped that my initial disappointment would go after a few listens but sadly I have to admit defeat - this album doesn't live up to my expectations though the production and musicianship again is very high - the overall effect has to warrant a lower rating than I would have hoped to have given.

Sorry XINEMA but I'm sure you can do better.

This is a Swedish trio, they know each other from the Eighties because as the progrock formation Madrigal they played prog inspired by Genesis, Rush, Yes and Kansas. Then the members went their own way, sometimes they met again and in the late Nineties this led to a new effort to make music with each other. In 2002 they released under the name Xinema (they had to change their name because of another Madrigal) an album with lots of early work but in 2006 Xinema finally released new work.

Their sound is a pleasant blend of neo-progressive rock and melodic rock featuring lots of great guitar work, almost every song is coloured by the guitar player, from sensitive and compelling to raw and fiery with often howling runs. The vocals sound inspired, the rhythm-section plays tight and the keyboards have a bit functional role but in some tracks we can enjoy flashy synthesizer soli, classical orchestrations and even the impressive sound of (sampled) church organ. The climates in the 14 tracks ranges from mellow to mid-tempo with sursprising musical ideas like spacey keyboard work (the short song Awakening), subdued with Grand piano (Live The Way I Knew It) and lush keyboards and a fiery guitar solo in the final track Dust In Your Eyes. A very pleasant album that will appeal to especially the neo-prog fans.

Second release of a very promising band.

I have to say that this release is a bit disappointing. Xinema drifts away from the path of their debut album to fall into commercial temptations. Seems as if their inspiration is vanishing.

This is still a good album, but the high standard set with the debut has no match yet. Four stars, or maybe 3.5 to be really honest.

These guys should sit down, think and get back on the line they set in their first album. The quality is there.

Xinema plays a basic neo-prog music tinted with some heavy sounds as more bands of this genre are experiencing nowadays (Talk).

One can think that the two long suite type of songs will be different. Especially while one is listening to the symphonic music available during the intro Awakening of the first of them (Speak To The World). But the band reverts to its neo style rather quickly.

Actually, the shortest parts of this suite are the ones that differs most: symphonic for the first one, classical for the second. What goes around these is not bad; but lacks of character. Only the closing part from Communication is slightly better thanks to the work from Sven Larsson on the guitar. I would have been glad to listen to more moments like this one (same scheme for Life The Way I Knew It).

There aren't any improvement during the second long piece of this album: Ghost Of A Memory starts on some easy listening but heavy neo-prog (Nothing). The fourth part is even flirting with some metal riffs. I can not be laudatory about this album: there are really too few good songs in here to be an enjoyable affair.

Average is the word that best describes this Basic Communication. The only standout moments are the excellent guitar breaks from Sven. Two stars and pretty basic indeed.

This is the second album from this Swedish trio, who comprise Mikael Askemur (vocals, bass, keys, and guitars), Sven Larsson (guitar) and Jonas Thurén (drums). It has been a few years since the debut, but the wait has been worthwhile as here we have yet another solid symphonic prog album that also contains a few elements of AOR and happily straddles both camps. The vocals are very strong, and the music is very powerful indeed with the band certainly understanding the need of dynamics and creating music that has plenty of holes in it which allows the different elements to shine through. There is never the impression that they are a trio, and also never the feeling that this is a small band working for a specialist Canadian label as this is music that is full of confidence, as if the band were already major players in the market. This was the first non-Canadian act to be signed to the label, and this album has certainly repaid the confidence that Michel St-Père had in getting them onboard. Powerful and full of impact, this is something that fans of Marillion and IQ will certainly get a lot out of. It is possible to listen to some of the music by visiting the Unicorn website, so why immerse yourselves in some great progressive rock music. www.unicorndeigital.com