SUPERSTRING

The influences from 70s prog great are obvious. King Crimson is a name that pops up immediately. But it's far from as adventurous as these prog pioneers.

The compositions are mostly pleasant. However, I never feel like I'm hearing something special or new. Even dramatic build-ups come across as mechanical to me. The first track has snippets of ITCOTCK, Larks and Starless but I prefer the originals.

What strikes me is that the different sections of the pieces are all well played, but they lack a certain spirit and I am not fond of the often sudden transitions.

Decent album, but for fans only. 2 stars.

South Korean prog rockers SUPERSTRING lost two members--including founding member Hanjoo Lee--but have gained a new violinist--Wooah Min--and have, thus, decided to rename themselves "Arkitekture."

1. "Impetus" (9:17) the sound rendering is quite cluttered and muddy and the song construction quite simplistic and straightforward for Avant/RIO--but not unlike NIL, UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA, or DAAL. My favorite part is the spacious almost-classical jazz passage occupying the seventh minute before bursting out with the sax solo. (17.5/20)

2. "Abnormal Reversible Reaction" (2:55) temple with Hammond organ and baritone sax open this one before the drummer goes OTSUBO HIROHIKO (Bondage Fruit) on us and the band injects some klezmer and DON PULLEN ideas into the music. A very odd and eclectic blending of sounds and styles. I might not like this so much were it not for being a sucker for Bondage Fruit. (8.875/10)

3. "Prayer for the Dying" (8:55) opens sounding SO MUCH like a blend of King Crimson, KBB, and Van Der Graaf Generator. Really good! An amazingly refreshing and yet familiar composition. The slightly muddled mid-range is the song's only flaw. (19.75/20)

4. "Dark Matter" (11:16) a cornucopia of prog sounds--some sounding Japanese, some sounding classic prog rock, many from the jazz-rock fusion front. Some of it just doesn't sound that good together. (Guess I'd never do well if 1970s CARAVAN, 1980s ROBERT FRIPP, 1990s COLLAGE, 2000s KBB, 2010s SEVEN IMPALE, and Woody Allen's coffeehouse Gershwin-tinged New Orleans Jazz band all got on stage together to jam.) (17.875/20)

5. "The Decay" (11:12) more Woody Allen?! Such straightforward, New Orleans-sounding marching music. But that was just the introduction: in the second minute we stop, get out of the car, and get into another, more modern (yet still classic) vehicle for some more smooth-driving jazz. Just a little too sloppy and chaotic for me. (17.5/20)

Total Time 43:35

90.28 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of eclectic progressive rock. With a little better sound engineering, tighter performances, and more discerning compositions, this could well have been a masterpiece.

P.S. This NOT Superstring; with a change of lineup the band has decided to rename themselves ARKITEKTURE.

This most likely will be my album of the year for 2022 but there's a few contenders I need to spend time with first. SUPERSTRING or ARKITEKTURE as they are called here are a 5 piece from South Korea and everything about them is classy. The cover art and pictures are stunning along with the band picture, all first class. Same with the music as we get two females playing sax/flute and violin/viola and they are the soloists although we get the keyboards doing that as well and he adds electric piano, mellotron, organ and synths. I can't say enough about the drummer, so skilled and the bass is very upfront thankfully and that man composed a lot of the music here.

I was a little worried seeing someone tag this as chamber music as it's just not my favourite style but I didn't hear it myself. This is electric and energetic with some nice contrasts though when they bring those calms. They repeat themes but more than anything this is just a joy to listen to. Five tracks over 43 1/2 minutes and this is quite melodic with tinges of the avant to make it more interesting. Custom made for me is what this album feels like. I always rave about electric piano and bass combos and we get that here. This has it all, well no vocals.

"Impetus" is the nine minute plus opener and maybe my favourite. Some huge bass and the drumming is killer. Violin solos over top early on and man I forgot to point out the mellotron on this record, amazing! Like on this opening number. When we get calms we usually get electric piano and the sax does make an appearance and she plays alto and baritone on this record. That short 3 minute second track is different with the organ leading with percussion as bass then sax joins in. There's a different flavour when the flute leads. Funny in the liner notes the bass player mentions that on this second track "bass quotes a passage from SOFT MACHINE's "Esther's Nose Job". They have pretty good tastes in music no?

"Prayer For The Dying" features some massive bass lines and mellotron. Are you kidding me? Sounds so good when the violin starts to solo here. There's something majestic here. Bass only after 3 minutes in atmosphere as other sounds join in. It's experimental and somewhat dark here. Oh my here comes that bass 5 minutes in, sax too as the song starts to move. Bass is awesome! It turns beautiful after 6 minutes with sax then electric piano in mellotron.

"Dark Matter" is that to start with some suspense in that darkness. The sax before 1 1/2 minutes changes that mood as it dances over the drums and atmosphere. Electric piano and bass standout then the synths lead. Bass is so good. It turns intense around 4 1/2 minutes in and uptempo as the violin kicks in. The contrasts continue and it turns avant late. "The Decay" ends it beginning with some happy sax surprisingly given the title. That changes as melancholy takes over. Again we get some contrasts throughout and the electric piano and violin have their way with this song at times.

Man I know two bands from South Korea and both have a 5 star album for me. JAMBINAI being the other, a much heavier Post-Metal band. "Rationalis Impetus" is incredible!

WOW

How come such a fantastic record is under our radar I will never understand; there is no review for Arkitekture's Rationalis Impetus. You really owe it to yourself to check them out (Rationalis Impetus | Arkitekture (bandcamp.com)). I would recommend checking out their Bandcamp before the YouTube videos. The video's sound quality is not as good as their studio recording.

They are categorized as RIO/Avant-Prog, perhaps that is why there is a lack of reviews, but their melody lines are so strong they could easily be categorized as Symphonic Prog.

A reviewer at Wayside Music Shop described their music as a mixture of Anglagard and Far Corner. I think this description is quite accurate. The album contains five instrumental pieces and for the two of them I would also include "In the Court of the Crimson King" and "In the Wake of Poseidon" era King Crimson.

Their compositions are very mature. They make excellent use of quiet passages mixed with turbulent explosions. There is a dark weight to their compositions sometimes evoking early Crimson and VDGG. The musical communication between the saxes, violin and the keys are so strong it supports the melodies floating between them with a light touch.

The band is a five piece group fronted by two females; Dongju Ha (alto & baritone saxophones, flute) and Wooah Min (violin, viola). They both are absolutely fantastic. There are plenty of foundational keyboards; mixing organ, electric piano, piano, mellotron, synthesizer sounds. Drummer is also very capable and always is where you need it to be. And finally, the fuzzy base bubbles up like an angry volcano in the background (but unfortunately never reaches an eruption).

Important to note is the lack of guitar in the group. Although I am a big fan of the guitar sound, I did not miss it at all. Between the saxes and violin, the territory of the guitar is well covered.

I am already looking forward to their next creation.