MULTIFUSE

Who may expect an early psychedelia infected album here - as the cover art probably implies - will be surprised most certainly. Peter Fallowell, multi-instrumentalist and MULTIFUSE leader, accentuates his affinity to the Sgt. Pepper years, but for me, overall, it sounds more like a leap into the 1980's. 'Harmonies Of Opposites' or HOO or maybe H2O, just to play a little bit with acronyms, is quite a personal statement. Ten songs are given on this new album, telling us a lot about happy and sad feelings, for example dealing with face to face relationships (Aurelia) as well as pitfalls and pleasures concerning internet connections (Imaginary Ways).

Musically this is considerably tending towards a standard rock approach with popular influences, hence there's not much prog in here, just important to know for those who are genre purists. Nonetheless Peter certainly supplies a nice melodic workout with this album. Most of the instruments are played by himself as usual, only Fabio Fecchio contributes with his bass guitar. Richard Robinson often enough cares for the lead vocals, his voice sometimes reminds me of RWPL's Yogi Lang. Cherie Emmitt, who also has participated at the debut album, is often acting from the backing place on the other hand.

What you can hear on 'Harmonies Of Opposites' are proper rock music compositions, stylistically coming close to the likes of Cutting Crew, Fisher-Z, Tears For Fears and similar. Not that spectacular, but, just when you imagine appropriate circumstances, for example like being on a chateau somewhere in South France, spending a nice warm summer evening while listing to his band playing the songs live, with a glass of vin rouge at hand ... yeah, now this would be quite a marvelous experience, I suppose - three well-intentioned stars.

A project, revealed in France around mid-00's, by British multi-instrumentalist Peter Fallowell, a Prog Rock enthusiast since his teenage years in the 70's.Fallowell moved to France in 1973 to study percussion and got involved in a number of small groups without much success.At the same time he was agoraphobic, suffering on stage, this fact pretty much forced him to abandon the band formation and start composing music for the medias as well as teaching.But around the 90's he revisited his talents regarding composing for a music group, these were actually the early roots of what was to become Multifuse.For his first album he invited female singer Cherie Emmitt and bassist Tom Allen, ''Journey to the nesting place'' was the title of this work, released in 2009 on Fallowell's own Crooked Cat label.

With Multifuse you will be most reminded of female-fronted acts such as ILLUSION and EARTH & FIRE, unfortunately not during their best and most intricate periods, but at the time when both groups have turned into Pop Prog combos, struggling to find a steadiness regarding the music style.Three mid-length tracks come as the initial proposals of the group and all three are based on mellow guitar playing, interesting female vocal harmonies and smooth keyboard parts, creating poppy sensibilities, romantic atmospheres and some sort of 70's Prog vibe due to the resemblances with the aforementioned acts and the use of electric piano/clavinet.The music is mostly vocal-based and deeply sensitive with occasional breaks into instrumental parts with both spacious and light symphonic touches, but the focus here is mainly on tight songwriting.I was really curious to enter the 25-min. ''Yours again'' and see what the trio was after to.If you have listened and liked late-70's RENAISSANCE, then you know what this track is all about.A meld of Art Pop, Neo Prog and modern Pop in the vein of DIDO, pretty close to a cross between MAGENTA and PAATOS, where the vintage influences start to fade away and give their place to a modern production and style with thematic changes, passing from groovy Pop to OLDFIELD-ian soundscapes and a somewhat symph-based Neo Prog with elaborate tunes and melodies.

Too much Pop, too little Prog according to my books.Interesting listening for fans of Art Pop with splashes of Prog, but I guess many fans of the genre would find this to be very much song-based and less attractive compared to other releases...2.5 stars.

No so easy finding a progressive heritage in this record first since the main influence coming to mind is It's a Beautiful Day, especially by the? beautiful female vocals. And then come 'Answer You' and the splendid epic 'Yours Again' with their typical prog climates. The music is typically neo prog with a symphonic touch: echoes of Solstice, Quasar and Renaissance (the lush piano parts) come to the mind. As for the lyrics, I quote the comments in the booklet: "an exploration of dreams, fears, nightmares, and the need to be loved". By the way, who is this band with this funny name? A British trio: Peter Fallowell (drums, guitars, keyboards, vocals), Cherie Emmitt (vocals) and Tom Allen (bass). Peter also arranged and produced the record. And he did the cover art too. A real complete artist! The record was mixed and mastered in the South of France. Another reason why I recommend it (laughs!).

I have mixed feelings about this musical work. I like it more each time I listen to it, even though I am not overly fond of the tone of the singer's voice. She reminds me more of a backup vocalist and lacks the passion needed to deliver such intense compositions. The bass playing must have been hidden on some tracks or toned down, which is a shame, as I think people underrate the value of bass, including how much it can add to a song. From what I can ascertain, the bass had to be complex in some areas, but I got tired of turning the volume of the music way up just to hear it. This must have been a judgment call by the producer, and, in my opinion, a bad one. Tom Allen isn't done justice for his hard work. This composition can still stand on its own, despite those flaws. The music itself is just brilliant. Peter Fallowell shows his true talent, not only by the many instruments he can play, but also his ability to put together a collection of thoughts which transform into pure musical emotion. "Your World" should definitely be given airplay. Peter Fallowell carried this dream for many years, but it was well worth it, Peter! As time goes on, I hope more people will appreciate what went into this grand piece of work. Close your eyes and let it take you away....

MULTIFUSE - the project name is really sought out with accuracy. Peter Fallowell does not only master multiple instruments like guitar, keyboards and drums - he also covers a corresponding range of music styles hereby. 'Journey To The Nesting Place' sounds flawless even though the completion has needed 16 years in the end as he claims. I assume this is only meant for the process of composing though. It doesn't matter, let me point to the other band members.

MULTIFUSE is also bass player Tom Allen whose role is quite unspectacular compared to female vocalist Cherie Emmitt. Her charming voice dominates the album a lot and plays a reasonable part in contributing to the mellow mood. The official website recommends to treat this work as one piece 'because the album is conceived as a modern Symphony'. This is true I would say - dominated by a relaxed symphonic related texture and skillfully arranged with some reminiscences to wellknown bands which were most successful in the 70/80s.

'You can Hypnotise - I give you my devotion ...' - this is obviously dealing with hypnosis, the chances but also the risks of getting a deeper insight of what makes out your personality. And this procedure needs repetitive facility. First of all there is a staccato Fender Rhodes which reminds of Supertramp's 'Dreamer' immediately and accompanies you through the whole piece. Starting with an ambient/spacey vibe it grooves after a while initiated by the bass. And then we have polyphonic vocals which are mysterious, charming but dramatic too, emphatically arranged. The song is provided with a catchy refrain and develops to something beautiful after listening for several times.

On Day To Day Fallowell's excellent drum playing is striking. This song is divided in an up-tempo and a balladesque part. Remembering me at the Alan Parsons Project a little bit Answer You has probably the most pop leanings but consists of a fine grooving part with a nice guitar solo too. The epic long track Yours Again is concipated with six parts. Obviously Fallowell's core track, a symphony by itself, provided with variety, many breaks and turns - a quite complex piece which surely stands in opposite to popular music. At the end they are coming back to the initial hypnosis theme making use of irresistible polyphonic vocals once again.

Another album which takes a few listens by all means. You are immediately wrapped by the mellow mood focused on Emmitt's vocals and the piano. My first impression was a strong mainstream attitude - but this is dissolving soon. Despite the fact it took very long to finish this album it doesn't sound overproduced at all. A recommendation to fans of sophisticated delightful prog music.