BLESSED ARE THE BONDS

Another obscure gem release in 2007, free of charge.

This band is certainly the most interesting one I've come across in 2007. There are many instruments added to the usual guitar, piano, bass and drums. There is an entire strings section and also a trombone. The band implements all these instruments into their music directly rather then throwing them in the background or using them subtly. The artwork for the album is another nice feature, wonderful designs. This might be an interest to many because of the piano. I see a lot of people asking for piano driven music. While this is not keyboard wizardry like Emerson, the piano seems to be at the forefront most, which is why this CD is very special to me. Again, this CD is free a charge, don't hesitate to donate though.

'The Tragedy' is a piano driven piece. It even goes on for about a minute and a half before it is accompanied by vocals and strings. The vocals are also an asset to the music, the singer has a wonderful voice, but doesn't have a huge range. This song has a great buildup that reminds me of GYBE except with a lot more punch in the bass drums. This is a very progressive track with a slow start and finish, but with chaos and beauty in the middle. My favorite song on the album.

'The Tomb Song' starts in a very similar way. The piano sheds some real awesome talent in this one unlike the very obscure arrangement and scales like the prior song. This is a very angry track, the violins play with loud dynamics and the band shouts out their lyrics only added to the chaos. The drummer also starts to get in the spotlight, even further in the next song.

'The Progress' starts off where 'The Tomb Song' left off. This is the first guitar driven track. The guitar is wailing away some nice chunky riffs while the drummer does some nice work, very fast tempo. The song comes to an immediate halt a little after half way through. Followed by another buildup into a laid back drum beat with the vocals at the forefront, almost sounds like it's a monologue. You can tell this band really likes what they are doing, the singer is just pooring the emotion out with every word.

'The Machine' is just like 'The Progress' (starting to understand the pattern?) with the guitar and drums, except it stays that way throughout the whole song. It's really tight rhythmically not just drawn out and subtle like most things you hear in post-rock.

'The Wasteland' is the first ambient track, just featuring the piano that plays some chords once in a while. Obviously this is complimentary to the title of the song.

'The Water Song' sounds just like a GYBE with more metal. The track just sums up everything that has been done into one coherent piece.

'The Tree' is one of my favorite instrumentals now. The beginning has a great folk vibe to it. Getting much louder with the strings right back into place that they few previous tracks lacked. The pattern continues because like 'The Water Song' this track sums up many of the ideas previously displayed on the album.

'The Hymn' is exactly as the title described. Just pretty cool acoustic guitar work with a hymn on top to end this excellent album.

Just pick it up, anyone. There should be no problem getting this album because it is free. It is obviously worth the little time you have to spend giving them an address.

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