IN-DREAMVIEW

What is so impressive about these artists is how fast and how far they've developed and matured as both musicians (all of them of multiple instruments) as well as how far they've come as orchestrators (and performers) of what has become quite complex music. Matt Stober has continued to hone his skills, but more, he's matured so much in the compositional department--learning that less is more is sometimes the wisest choice rather than all flash and pyrotechnics. Plus, the many-layered full-band textures that he's in charge of (he is, after all, the leader of the band) never fail to have a very coherent and pleasing sound overall (i.e. it's not all cacophony and noodling for noodling's sake). But the instrumental skills attained by both Quinn and Ben Coniguliaro in such a short period of time is nothing short of jaw-dropping. (Try listening to their 2015/16 music on their Mud Moths releases--back when they were first putting their music out there for the world to hear). Three truly gifted artists!

The album is all instrumental with Quinn playing basses (such interesting playing style and choices!), Ben commanding the drum kit (and I do mean COMMANDING!), and Matt providing the layers of guitars over the top. Though each instrumentalist warrants the listener's attention, the overall tapestries of each song are quite beautiful and melodic. The sound of this album reminds me a lot (in many places) of the work of Chicago-based band MONOBODY (which once again begs the question: Is this kind of music Post Rock or Jazz-Rock Fusion--or some kind of Post Jazz-Rock Fusion?), and yet they are often creating music that is very much all their own. Plus, with this album, Triptych, the music seems to get better the further you progress into it.

Favorite pieces: the light, upbeat MONOBODY feel of 2. "Collisions Pt. II" (5:26) (9.5/10); the DIF JUZ-like 5. "Passageways Pt. II" (3:31) (9/10); the wonderfully melodic and hook-laden 6. "Passageways Pt. III" (7:00) (14.25/15); 7. "Water Caustics Pt. I" (5:03) (9/10); the Al DiMeola familiarity of 8. "Water Caustics Pt. II" (4:45) (8.875/10); the smooth, masterful drumming of the early PAT METHENY-like 9. "Water Caustics Pt. III" (6:26) (9.25/10)

Three young musicians that I have truly enjoyed back-traveling through their musical catalogs--both individually and collectively--and whose futures I am very much looking forward to following . . . closely!

A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of instrumental jazz-rock fusion that I think will impress and please most any/practically every prog lover. Since I own and revere their most recent album, Spires--and see it as another step forward for the band (and the individuals) I'm going to assign this album four stars for now, but it may be a full-blown masterpiece!

P.S. Apologies to guitarist Alex Verbickas for slighting his presence on this album! I truly thought that the band was just a trio for this release. Mega-kudos and Respect for your contributions, Alex!

One-man band Matt Stober is nothing short of a force of nature. If you're familiar with 4 A.D.'s 1980s instrumental band DIF JUZ, or early PAT METHENY, you're going to love this album.

Line-up / Musicians - Matt Stober / guitar, vibraphone, drums, piano, electric sitar, cello, bass, fretless bass, glockenspiel

1. "Steppe" (3:57) melodic guitar-centric Jazz-Rock Fusion blending the sounds of Pat Metheny with 4 A.D.'s Dif Juz (9.5/10)

2. "October" (4:05) more DIF JUZ-like music. This is great stuff! Such nice listening material! (9.25/10)

3. "Waterspout" (4:24) swirling guitar effects that sound like a saw or an Anna Von Hausswolff organ open this one before gentle drum play and multiple tracks of arpeggiating guitar, bass, and xylophone join in to create a dreamy sequence. Nice. (8.75/10)

4. "Arcs of Neptune" (4:01) perhaps a little too mellow and simplistic--especially when compared to the opening two songs. (8.6667/10)

5. "Mirror Tunnel" (3:44) pleasant enough but I was beginning to expect a little more flash from this very competent musician. (8.5/10)

6. "Line in the Sky" (3:56) quite a different rhythmic and sound palette with bouncy piano chord-play leading the way. Still tons of reverb, which is nice--even on an upright piano! (8.75/10)

7. "Tarn" (4:01) Metheny-ish sitar sound with Dif Juz piano, nice jazzy drum play in a song that evolves in the second minute into that "talks": the slowly capitulated melody being emitted in the same way that a person's speaking voice would. Very 1980s Metheny-ish. Also very much like the output of Yves Potin's Computer.org project. (8.875/10)

8. "Oxbow Lake" (3:56) Here's where the music starts to blend, one song into another, as the DIF JUZ-like pattern of instrumental guitar chord & melody play. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE this sound palette; it's just that by this point in the album it's all beginning to recede--to fall into a kind of pleasant, relaxing background music. (8.75/10)

9. "Antarctic" (4:06) my favorite rhythm tracks on the album: hypnotic and gorgeous--even with the second motif in the second and third minutes. (9/10)

10. "Long Field" (7:51) the atmospheric, almost space-ambient opening to this one is quite lovely--and a total preview of Matt's three (so far) Guitar & Ambient Works series (2020-2022). At 3:45 we land with a jazzy quite perfectly reminiscent of PAT METHENY's early GROUP work sound (the lineup with Danny Gottlieb and Marc Egan). At 6:15 this then devolves back into the synth-generated opening space-ambient motif. (13.25/15)

Total Time 44:01

Reminding one of early Pat Metheny, this music is not revolutionary but it is damned nice listening. B/four stars; a solid contribution of Post Rock-tinged Jazz-Rock Fusion. An album I doubt I'll ever tire of.

Excellent instrumental Post Rock from this New Jersey-based band.

1. "Spires" (4:41) because of the prominence of the tuned percussion, I find this quite reminiscent of the Post Rock done by Chicago-based band ALGERNON. The song has quite a lively, upbeat mood to it, which is quite nice for the Post Rock sub-genre. (8.875/10)

2. "Tower" (4:03) more reminiscent of another Chicago-based Post Rock band, MONOBODY, but then shifts into ANATHEMA territory with its guitar melody in the transitional bridge to the more CASPIAN-like body of the song. I like this more upbeat, optimistic strain in Post Rock. Then it just kind of stops, ends without any resolution, warning, or fanfare. Odd. (8.75/10)

3. "Belfry" (5:28) a more math-rock "Discipline"-like weave to open things up into a more Texas-twang sounding Post Rock. (8.667/10)

4. "Pinnacles" (4:53) a refreshingly unusual palette of instrumental sounds leads into another more Math Rock weave but that's just the first first 90 seconds of the song. Things start to morph and shift after that to make things very interesting. The drums, in particular are quite animated and remarkable, as are the bass and vibraphone contributions, but it's those guitars that really get me. Great tune! (9/10)

5. "Steeple" (6:42) gorgeous music from an odd effected chamber/orchestra ensemble ' until 2:29, that is. Then the music becomes more Post Rock-sounding--though retaining its pretty semi-jazzy chord progressions. The work of the vibraphone and guitars are especially striking--really sucking me into their work. Great quirky bridge repetitions in the end of the sixth minute lead into the spacey reverse tape ending. Excellent song! (9.33/10)

6. "Obelisk" (8:34) opens with a spacey Nature soundscape with glockenspiel and synths over which guitar, vibraphone, bass, and deep synth-bass-cussion plays. Very TORTOISE-like. Bass, drums, and guitars (two) really shine in the mid-section. (18.25/20)

7. "Finial" (11:01) pretty standard, un-developing Post Rock with lots of subtleties but very few dramatic shifts or changes--one in the sixth minute and one around 8:30 (the song's best section). (Weird searing electric guitar solo at the very end, just as the song is starting to fade out.) (17.50/20)

It's been a minute since I've heard anything new in the Post Rock world that interested me and invited me to stay. Matt, Ben, Quinn, Alex, and Peter: Congratulations! You've really brought something new to the sub-genre--a phenomenon that seems to be growing increasingly less likely.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of jazzy Post Rock music--an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.

1st May, 2021: In-Dreamview - Reverie (post-rock, 2016)

From what I can gather, this album has been written and recorded entirely by one guy. Now, that's not exactly unusual in today's music climate, but it is unusual and actually quite impressive to hear this style of music coming from a one- man band, considering the almost jam-like quality to it. Coming in somewhere between post-rock and jazz-rock, there are plenty of moments here that feel like they could only exist between a group of musicians feeling off eachother, and the fact that Matt Stober has played every instrument here, from drums to piano to guitar to flute to kalimba to "12-string wine crate", is damn impressive. Musically this doesn't reinvent the wheel, but there is a serious shortage of jazzy post-rock bands, and this reminds me the most of one of my favourites in the genre, Norway's 1099. Great for reading to or just chilling out.

6.6 (1st listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction