MOONDRIVE PLUS

This EP was the debut recorded efford by dutch instrumental band Odyssice. I got the second edition, which has two extra tracks. My first contact with this outstanding band was via their Impression CD. I was wondering if they were that good at the beginning and I was glad I got Moondrive Plus. Although very short (37 minutes with the extra tracks), the music inside is worth every penny you pay for it. Everyone should listen to the magical guitar solos by Bastiaan Peeters, one of the best new talents around. His playing is a joy to hear, absolute gorgeous in the best Andy Latimer tradition.

But lets not forget his band mates: keyboardsman Joeroen Van Der Wiel is equally a great musician, choosing tasteful timbres and sounds from 70´s instruments, with lush arrangements and adding some wonderful counterpoints to the guitar. Bass and drums are strong, tight and very, very effective. But nothing would work so well if they were not the excellent songwriters they show to be here.The music is elaborated and varied, but also melodic, accessible and exciting. The four original tracks are absolute perfect and absolute essential for any prog lover. The extra songs are nice, maybe not as powerful as the original four, but very good anyway.

Odyssice impressed me a lot with their Impression CD (no pun intended, please), but Moondrive proved they were a one of a kind type of band from day one. This EP is a masterpiece of prog music. Highly recommended!

Odyssice's first album, 'Moondrive', was originally released in 1996, comprising a 30 minute suite divided into five songs. This has now been remastered and reissued by Cyclops, along with bonus songs and a CD-ROM elements which comprises live videos, biogs etc (hence the 'Plus' of the title). Odyssice are an instrumental quartet and while drummer Menno Boomsa and bassist Pascal van de Pol keep it all together, there is no doubt that the melody stakes belong to keyboardist Jeroen van der Wiel and guitarist Bastiaan Peeters. While Jeroen trades licks with Bastiaan, he also does a fine job of providing a curtain of keyboards as a backdrop so that Bastiaan can provide Andy Latimer/David Gilmour/Gary Chandler -style lead lines against them.

Although there are no vocals they aren't missed just because there doesn't appear to be any room for them. This is extremely polished, with each musician knowing their place and working together to produce an album that is quite beautiful in some respects, and very interesting and enjoyable throughout. This isn't an album that is hard to listen to, the music flows and ebbs, but always with plenty of melody and a simple complexity. This isn't about playing music at the speed of light, or showing off as to how quickly things can be done but instead playing the music that suits the mood and the piece. An album for progheads who don't always want to be blown away or have to work at their listening pleasure.

Originally appeared in Feedback #78, April 2004