Media/Samples‘Umbra’ is bookended by the long, spiralling sax lines of ‘Lofoten Dance’ part 1 and 2. Set against a backdrop of sparse bass and wandering African thumb piano, its sonic space perfectly evokes the isolated splendour of the Norwegian archipelago it was inspired by and in many ways the still, mysterious atmosphere that is witnessed during a solar eclipse.Some of the most beautiful moments of light reside within ‘Caraval’ and ‘Sacral’. The former, a joyous major key drone that blissfully meanders along complemented by a panoply of percussion that has echoes of Popul Vuh at their most ecstatic. The latter is a wonderful expression of serene contemplation based around a simple, ascending two note synthesiser figure that conjures up some of the best ambient works of the ECM catalogue.Further musical exploration of shadow is represented by the formidable power of ‘Qamar’, whose finale is replete with prayer bells and tribal percussion, bolstered by Whittaker’s multi-part vocal harmonies over a bed of droning synth and ethnic wind instruments - drawing comparisons to the cinematic work of saxophonist Colin Stetson.Further notable use of vocals is to be found as the album’s centrepiece: ‘Folded Sun’. A deep slice of Kosmiche beauty propelled by Diagonal bandmate Luke Foster’s cyclical drumming, the result is akin to something that Robert Wyatt, Hawkwind and NEU! may have concocted if they had triple booked the same recording studio.
It’s a record that maintains their effortlessly chameleonic shifts through Canterbury scene-indebted progressive rock, pulsing motorik and the spaced-out jazz expression; but where it really thrives is in its sense of spontaneity, imbibed from the quick and organic way that it came about.
Arc is their most organic sounding effort to date. Noticeable changes have been made to the sound, with an increased presence of both vocals and acoustic instrumentation. Track ‘Stars Below’ sees the band explore their interests in jazz tinged folk, whereas ‘The Vital’ ends up somewhere in orbit around Talk Talk’s later work or an ECM recording. In contrast the tracks ‘The Spectrum Explodes’ and ‘9-Green’ boast tight grooves that shift and break as synths, sax and distorted guitar come to the fore.Media/Samples
Baron's sharing of members with untethered progressive stallions Diagonal had me expecting a riot of galloping tempo changes and nostril-flared sax runs, but while progressive rock is still very much a part of Baron's DNA (or elixir vitae, as seems more appropriate) it's a different strand that is being evoked here, with Columns harking back to Vangelis's Earth, Traffic's late and almost totally unlamented Fly Like An Eagle and even Talk Talk's Spirit Of Eden. It's a subdued, slow-burning record where the vocals are crooningly intoned and the instrumentation washes across the song instead of jabbing and spitting at it.
Media/SamplesRead the full review by Mat Colegate at thequietus.com
Opening cut "Voyage/Paralysis" is like a meeting of Pink Floyd, Eloy, and Soft Machine, while the more aggressive "These Yellow Sands" sees space rock guitars, analog keyboards, and Passport styled sax lines collide for an exciting prog brew. "Mitochondria" contains some furious jazz-fusion passages mixing with Tangerine Dream styled electronics (the unison guitar/keyboard/sax lines are outstanding), which will appeal to any fan of classic Soft Machine, and "Hulks" sees the first appearance of vocals in what is otherwise a dense mix of dark prog & jazz, complete with some searing guitar solos and stabbing sax that culminate in an almost free-jazz finale. Closer "Capsizing" is a soaring jazz-fusion meets space rock jam with scattered sax, guitar, and keyboard melodies fluttering about the mix, with some nice heavy rock guitar riffs and leads towards the back end of the song. Space rock, prog, jazz-fusion, and Canterbury fans will most certainly want to investigate this one. (Pete Pardo at seaoftranquility.org)Media/Samples