REFLEX ARC

Marc Carlton is as underground as you can get when it comes to who's heard of his music. But unlike some bands/artists that lay undiscovered for a reason, i.e. they're rubbish. Marc's music is so far from mainstream, it's like visiting the remote parts of Greenland; endless beautiful landscapes with not a McDonalds in sight. It is a place where few people ever venture but for those that do, are rewarded with an unforgettable and mesmerising experience.

This is the 5th album proper Marc has made or the 7th if you include soundtracks. In true Mike Oldfield style, Carlton plays all the instruments appearing on the album, including a range of different guitars including 12 string, classical, electric and acoustic. This works well in particular where the guitars are layered with the different guitar lines on top of each other to achieve a fuller sound. The synthesiser is the other key instrument on the album which he creates some very nice effects. There are some tracks which are more synth focused than guitar which I thought brought a nice balance to the album as a whole.

Reflex Arc has a nice flow about it and there are no parts which feel like they are out of place. The vibe I get when listening to the album is one of peace and harmony. That is until track fourteen comes around! If you do reach the dreamlike state like I did when listening to this album and I still get caught out. Track 14 will certainly wake you up, as the electric guitars really kick in before mellowing out again almost creating a kind of soft opera singing style effect using the synths in track 16. For me it acts as a great closure for the album.

Although divided into 16 tracks, named 'one' through to 'sixteen'. It is in effect one long track called the album title 'Reflex Arc'. With the state of the record industry these days failing to take in to account tracks do last more than 5 minutes, never mind the 65 minutes that this song lasts. If it was released as one track, it would be classed as an EP, which really doesn't feel right, hence why the album was split into different tracks. However in saying that, the tracks do act as good reference points for the album. For example instead of saying "Yeah the bit from 32 minutes to 34 minutes and 21 seconds, the guitar playing is legendary"; you can say "Track six is has got some amazing guitar parts in it".

In this day and age, talent like this is wasted on most people, as they are not willing to give the time or the effort to unlock this gem and appreciate it in its true splendour. I think it is one of those albums that takes a lot of listens to fully appreciate. In saying that, I feel that the album does work on a very simple level as background music too. Although doing it this way is a start to unlocking the album, I think you really need to sit down and listen to it properly to really get into it. To explain this I'll go back to the Greenland analogy I used at the start. Thousands of people every year go over Greenland every year on planes. For those who look out the window, almost everyone I come across looks at the view in awe. People know this kind of place exists and realise this where the true beauty lies, but are too attracted to the more popular/easy to get to destinations which are safe, established holiday locations. They don't see it as a challenge to get to Greenland; in fact most people would not even give it a second thought. The people, who do indeed see it as challenge and actually go, are the ones that in the end get the full reward.

Overall a very satisfying album which I doubt I'll ever be able to unlock fully. But for me it is all about the journey in trying to get there is what this album is really all about.

This fifth solo effort by UK musician and composer Marc Carlton is a rather nice effort; perhaps not the best music made for attentive listening but superb as relaxing and contemplative uses.

Mellow, melodic explorations is the deal, and the compositions are mostly performed by synths and guitars; with the latter as the most prominent instrument. Carefully crafted melodic themes are served up by the guitar, and quite often additional layers of guitars are utilized to deliver details and nuances, some soloing or a few musically contrasting elements. On select occasions the dark remnants of an electric guitar will sludge by; creating a dark, gritty an ominous sounding atmosphere for those brief moments.

The synths are mostly used in a subservient manner on the album; although floating synth layers or the piano is used to open quite a few tunes they will most times fade to background as guitars take over. Apart from that, synths and keyboards most times resides in the back or middle of the mix, delivering rich, majestic features with the same ease as careful and fragile moods.

It's an intriguing affair, but more so for those who are looking for music for meditation and relaxing than concentrated listening. Worth checking out if this sounds like something one might appreciate.

Contains some fine numbers

Released in 2005, a year after "Still", "Reflex arc" may perhaps be labelled as an abstract concept album. This is the only album to date not released by Marc through his own label, "Reflex arc" being distributed by Musea Records. The track titles give no hint as to the themes which link the tracks, as they simply restate the track numbers in narrative form from "One to "Sixteen".

According to Carlton, "this project carries the multifaceted theme of human responses; some unconscious, some we are aware of, but all of which make up who we are." The relative brevity of most of the tracks confirms that the album is intended to be heard as a complete piece, similar to many of the works of Carlton's inspiration Mike Oldfield. As with the work ethic of Oldfield, Marc once again plays all the instruments here, the emphasis being on guitars and keyboards.

Right from the opening track, ("One"!) it is apparent that Marc is seeking to distance himself from the new age nuances which were a feature of previous albums. Here, improvisation plays a much greater part, at least in the compositional phase. The sounds and themes are far more varied this time, with little in the way of overt repetition.

Highlights include "Three", where choral keyboard effects and melodic guitars combine in a beautiful cacophony of sound, and "Six" which sounds like it could have been lifted from Oldfield's "The songs of distant earth", the lead guitar here being particularity effective. The album is brought to the perfect conclusion with the ethereal "sixteen".

Overall, while this album has obvious structural similarities to the work of Mike Oldfield, I actually find it reminds me more of some of Anthony Phillips best works such as "Slow dance". The music here is that of a talented composer who is able to work within his own strict quality controls to create an album of great beauty and imagination. Recommended.