Lee Speaks About Music… #214

Magnified As Giants – Caligonaut

Introduction…

Ever since I bumped into the Norwegian band Wobbler a few years ago I have been amazed by their consistent quality output of music over the years and it very much speaks to me like progrock did many moons ago back in those dark distant days of the early 70’s. To be honest, there are not many bands in this world who can craft music as they do and the biggest majority of neo-prog outfits that are out there I tend to describe as PROGMATIC! in relation to PROGROCK! and you will see that word pop up in many of my reviews.

Progrock has always been my personal favourite genre of music and when it comes to listening to music I still mostly live in the 70’s. I also tend to spend most of my money on reissues of albums that came out of that decade and the incentive for me to buy music all over again is for multichannel surround purposes more than anything else. I guess these days I am more of a surround FREAK! though I still buy CD’s and very much prefer the physical product in relation to any Digital Download of an album.

With any physical product, you can see where your money has been spent. Buying a Digital Download has no real value at all, it’s not as if you can look at it with pride or even hold it in your hands and you certainly would not be able to re-sell it like a physical product. This is why I personally think that no Digital Download of an album is worth any more than £3.

A prime example of just what the physical product means to me can be seen in my review of another new band I stumbled across last year which was the German band Argos. Their latest album The Other Life impressed me so much that I would have brought the bands back catalogue. The only problem was that all physical copies of their five previous albums were out of print so I never bothered.

You can of course obtain some of them on the black market second-hand, though I have not stumbled across any of them as of yet at a reasonable enough price. I may stretch my budget further for multichannel recordings but I certainly would not pay over the odds for a CD no matter how good the band or artist is.

Luckily for me, Caligonaut is a relatively new band or project and the debut album Magnified As Giants was released last year and is still very much in print. I suppose I have to thank Dan Lockart for drawing this album to my attention when he posted a track from the album in the Progrock group on Facebrook. The very thing that immediately caught my eye was that he had posted it under a picture of the Dwellers of the Deep album by Wobbler.

Unknowingly to Dan at the time there is an actual connection. It’s also easy to see where the confusion lies as I soon discovered when I Googled images of the album’s artwork as seen below.

Caligonaut is actually the work of a one-man project and the chap behind it all also comes from Norway, his name is Ole Michael Bjørndal. There is also a strong connection with the band Wobbler when he put this album together which I will go into more detail about later on in this review. But before I do so let’s take a look at the packaging and artwork.

Packaging & Artwork…

The CD comes in a standard plastic jewel case which is perhaps not the best way to present your album these days in relation to the DigiPak or DigiSleeve/File which I personally think have a lot more style to them and give your album a much better presentation. It does, however, protect the disc adequately enough although quite often when ordered from online stores they can arrive cracked or split as this one did. It’s very much a packaging that I regard that went out with the Dodos these days.

It also comes with a 12-page booklet that contains all the liner production notes plus lyrics. It is however a nightmare to retrieve from the jewel case as it’s one of those that has three placeholders to keep it firmly in place. Quite often you will end up creasing or even damaging the booklet if not careful and this is another reason why I hate this form of packaging.

I purchased my copy from Amazon UK for £13.65 which is on the pricey side for a CD especially one that comes in a standard jewel case. Though as it’s imported the price is to be expected. Apart from the packaging, I have no real complaints here.

Vinyl Editions.

For vinyl lovers, the album was put out in standard black vinyl and a couple of Limited Edition coloured vinyl both of which were limited to 250 copies. The white-coloured vinyl may be much harder to obtain and was released last year. The album was reissued this year on yellow vinyl and all vinyl copies retailed around the £22 mark. As I cannot find any details regarding the weight of the actual vinyl I can only presume they were pressed onto 140-gram vinyl which might also reflect the cheaper price point.

I no longer collect vinyl and have not for over the past couple of decades now. Although recently I have started to purchase some iconic albums on vinyl for other purposes as you can see in this WHACKY! video I made showcasing the 50th Anniversary reissue of Jethro Tull’s classic album Thick As A Brick.

Artwork.
The illustration and artwork were done by Ole’s sister Marte Bjørndal, and it gives me the impression of modern art with how things have been scribbled and noodled around here. Overall I think it looks OK! though it’s not the sort of thing I would hang on my wall so to speak. The back cover artwork was done by Anne-Marie Forker who also helped out with words. It pretty much runs along the same lines with the scribbling and noodling though it fits in with the rest very well.

The Album In Review…

Magnified As Giants by Caligonaut was released on the 21 of February 2021. The album itself contains 4 tracks that spread over an overall playing time of 50 minutes, 38 seconds, which is a reasonable enough time slot though not really suited for vinyl due to its restrictions. Although it was not unusual for many bands and artists to overstep the mark by trying to squeeze too much information onto the format, perhaps more so in the latter part of the 70’s. However, for quality purposes, you were better off sticking to the 30 – 40 minute mark and that is another reason why I gave up on the format more than a couple of decades ago.

The one thing I will say about this album though is that the fifty minutes you get here are very well utilised and not a single drop or second of it has been wasted. The way the music has been crafted very much puts me in mind of the band Wobbler and the strong connection with that band just may very well be the reason why this album turned out as well as it did.

For those like myself who have never heard of Ole Michael Bjørndal, from what I can gather he plays in the Norwegian band called Oak. This particular band have produced a couple of albums to date starting with their debut album Lighthouse back in 2013 and False Memory Archive in 2018. I did take the liberty to listen to a couple of tracks from both albums on the Tube and I can honestly say they are a different kettle of fish to the album we have here.

Magnified As Giants might very well come under the name of Caligonaut (that incidentally translates to “traveller of the mist”) but it could also be seen as a solo album under his own name in that he wrote the biggest majority of the material for it. Bjørndal is a guitarist who also comes with a voice, though you would not think that in the band he is playing with because they already have a lead singer and he only contributes backing vocals to that band now and then.

This is an album that truly brings out this guy’s full potential and just like the band Wobbler it puts Norway on the map of being one of the finest countries in this day and age for progrock. I do mean PROGROCK! as well and not the PROGMATIC! music that the band Oak is making. I do also believe that this was only possible because of the three musicians from Wobbler he has onboard with him here, two of which are very much vital to how this album sounds and has turned out that way.

I am of course speaking of the bands bass player Kristian Karl Hultgren and keyboard player Lars Fredrik Frøislie who literally go to the extremes when it comes to making music sound like it did back in those dark distant days of the 70’s. The latter of those two also mixed and co-engineered the recording of this album which I personally think is also why it turned out as it did.

There are of course other musicians who have been brought in to lend a hand with the album and over the years Bjørndal has appeared on many other albums (as seen below). Many of which I dare say he came into contact with through his connection with lead guitarist Bjorn Riis who is the main songwriter and one of the founding members of the highly successful Norwegian band Airbag.

Although Bjørndal plays the guitar and appears on the albums above, there are some, where his name has been uncredited to them. The Pymlico album On this Day for example is one of Arild Brøter’s projects who not only plays the drums on a couple of tracks but also co-engineered the album.

NST

Bjørndal also uses (NST) New Standard Tuning for the guitar which was developed and used by the guitarist Robert Fripp back in 1985. It’s basically an all-fifths tuning method that is typically used for mandolins, cellos, violas, and violins. Fripp has used the tuning ever since until more recently when I noticed that he has reverted back to standard tuning for the work he is doing for his wife Toyah Wilcox’s new album.

Much of the basic structure of material for the album was written around 2014 – 2018. The album tracks were recorded at various home studios belonging to some of the musicians who lent a hand including Ole’s vocals. According to an interview I watched of him on Youtube he also originally intended to release the album on his birthday a year earlier. No doubt a lot of time, thought and effort has been put into the making of the album and I am sure the wait was worth it.

Musicians & Credits…

Produced by Ole Michael Bjørndal. Co-Producers Arild Brøter, Lars Fredrik Frøislie & Kristian Karl Hultgren. Vocals Co-Produced by Andreas W.S. Prestimo. Words & Music by Ole Michael Bjørndal except “Lighter Than Air” music by Ole Michael Bjørndal & Kristian Karl Hultgren.

Recorded in Norway at the following home studios: Double Decker, Vilthagen, LFF and Helgrud Kirke. Engineered by Arild Brøter, Andreas W.S. Prestimo & Lars Fredrik Frøislie. Mixed by Lars Fredrik Frøislie. Mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo at Dude Ranch studio. Illustration & Artwork by Marte Bjørndal. Graphic Design by Thomas Hagen Kaldhol. Back Cover Photo by Anne Marie-Forker.

Musicians.
Ole Michael Bjørndal: Lead Vocals – Electric Guitars – 12 String & Acoustic Guitars.
Kristian Karl Hultgren: Bass Guitars.
Lars Fredrik Frøislie: Hammond Organ – Mellotron – Grand Piano – Synths & Keyboards.
Andreas W.S. Prestimo: Backing Vocals.
Arild Brøter: Drums & Percussion (Tracks 2 & 4).
Henrik Fossum: Drums (Track 1).
Åsa Ree: Violin & Backing Vocals (Tracks 1 & 2).
Stephan Hvinden: Rhythm Guitar (Track 2).
Iver Kleive: Church Organ (Track 2).

The Album Tracks In Review…

Although there is a strong connection with the musicians from Wobbler that went into the making of Magnified As Giants, the musical style is quite different. Both use a lot of folk influences but they are poles apart. For example, Wobbler is a band that will quite often throw in some medieval and renaissance folk influences much of which can be heard on the bands second album Afterglow which is perhaps more inspired by the medieval progrock band Gryphon.

Just like that style of folk music the music on this album also has a very strong folk presence that can not only be dark but also light and airy. Although Ole’s voice is nothing like Cat Stevens it can reflect at times on that particular style of folk music Stevens wrote. I suppose in a way it’s a bit like a singer-songwriter approach though it is amalgamated with other influences thrown in for good measure. For my ears, it’s a bit like throwing Stevens, early Genesis (Anthony Phillips) and the band Magna Carta into one big melting pot.

No doubt other influences will pop out of the woodwork every now and then and even though the album very much has a progrock 70’s feel to it, it also comes across fresh if that makes any sense. So let’s now delve a bit deeper into the album tracks.

Track 1. Emperor.

The album opens up quite hauntingly with the piano and bells though it soon launches its power upon us with the guitars, bass and drums and this opening section really does kick some ass. It is, without doubt, the most powerful track on the album and during this section, the drums, bass and guitar get to individually make their own statement in that they all have a leading role. It’s the second longest track on the album weighing in at some 14 minutes, 35 seconds and one that goes through many transitional changes along its path. It’s also a song that will take you on an epic journey like many of the songs on this album.

Musically it’s not all about power and it also reflects grace, passion as well as anger that tie in very well with the subject matter of the lyrical content that pertains to politics and their rulers. The word IDIOCRACY! springs to mind for those that follow and worship false hope and I suppose in a way the demise of Donald Trump’s empire could be seen as the fall of the Roman Empire.

The quality of musicianship on this album is second to none and Kristian Hultgren’s bass plays as much of a lead role as Bjørndal‘s guitar throughout this album. His work on this album is outstanding and it’s very much a dominant feature here. The drummer Henrik Fossum kicks total ass on this track and the work done by Lars Frøislieis on the keys is also very impressive and lives up to its expectancy.

The vocal duties are also handled very well and I do believe it was Andreas Prestimo (who does most of the vocal harmonies) that recorded Bjørndal‘s voice and gave him a few ideas and tips. You can perhaps hear the presence of Wobbler with Prestimo’s harmonies on this track and there is no mistaking his voice.

Åsa Ree not only contributes violin to the track but also backing vocals. I am pretty sure she has guested on a couple of Wobbler albums and her input here is also valid. Originally Bjørndal had the idea to end the song off with the violin but was open to suggestions to which Ree stepped in and arranged the choir to end it off instead.

Everything about the “Emperor” is very well balanced down to the acoustic and electrifying side of things. It’s very much a song that has the right shape with how everything has been placed to play its part throughout each transition including the nice touch with the BEATLE-ESC! like transition that comes into play around the 9:12 mark on the piano which you can hear for yourself here.

There is never a dull moment over its fourteen and half minutes it’s also quite an accessible track and easy enough to take in on your first listen even for NON-PROGHEADS! That may very well be down to the folk presence and the way Bjørndal‘s voice cuts through cleanly and clinically in the mix. In some ways, it is like a breath of fresh air and very welcoming to hear in this day and age.

Magnified As Giants is a very difficult album for me to pick a personal favourite track out of the four you get here. If I was going for power I would personally pick this one but for now, it’s my joint favourite and shares the TOP SPOT AWARD!

Track 2. Hushed.

It’s quite evident and clear that Bjørndal likes to paint images and landscapes with his words and music and he has skillfully crafted out a Twilight World with this GORGEOUS! song. “Hushed” is a song that is perhaps more acoustically driven in relation to the opening track, though it still has those other elements thrown into the equation to drive it along like a force of nature so to speak. Once again the transitional changes have been very well thought-out and pop out of the woodwork in all the right places.

It’s one of the two tracks on the album that features Arild Brøter from Pymlico on drums & percussion also Stephan Hvinden from the same band plays a minor part on rhythm guitar. The Norwegian church organist and composer Iver Kleive also contributes organ to the track and Ree’s violin once again also adds a nice touch here.

This is my second favourite song on the album and one that shares the albums TOP SPOT AWARD! Even though it’s some five minutes shorter than the opening track it still has just as much to say and the lyrical content has very much been skillfully put into context to tie in with the twilight world. It’s very much a song that weaves its way along like magic even down to the beautiful guitar solo around the 4:35 mark.

Track 3. Magnified As Giants.

Next up we have the album’s self-titled track and this is the shortest track on the album although, to be honest, you would not think that with the wonderful transitions that transcend along its path. It’s very much an acoustic song that has that early Genesis ring to it in particular with the twelve-string guitar and its melody lines. It has me thinking of the album Trespass which was the Anthony Phillips era of the band. Both Phillips and Michael Rutherford were also quite diverse when it came to using strange guitar tunings some of them were even forgotten by themselves. They may have even developed the “C” standard tuning before Fripp did for all we know.

Bjørndal has a way of writing words that will leave many to make their own interpretations out of them, they are far from straightforward and quite poetic. Sort of like the way Don Mclean wrote the words to his classic hit “American Pie” back in 1972 though I very much doubt they would sell for 1.2 Million dollars as those lyrics did. However, like all the lyrical content on this album just as much thought has been put into them as the music and this set of lyrics embarks on the memory of falling in love for the first time and displays just how BIG! and powerful it can be sort of thing.

If anything “Magnified As Giants” displays Bjørndal‘s ability as a fine songwriter who knows how to craft well-worked-out songs, songs like this don’t just appear out of the blue and take time to develop and structure. This is very much a song that could also easily share the TOP SPOT AWARD! with the two opening tracks on the album.

It’s a song that mostly features Bjørndal by himself and the only other instrument besides guitar you will hear is the Mellotron that Frøislie added to it which lends support to it very well. Prestimo also lends a slight touch of backing vocals to it as you can hear on the official video that was put out to promote the album.

The word BEAUTIFICATION! springs to mind with this song and Anne Marie-Forker who did the back cover photo for the album is also worthy of a mention for the splendid job she has done with the video here.

Track 4. Lighter Than Air.

The longest track and journey on the album weighs in at just under 19 minutes and I have to admit upon my first listening to this track it did not speak to me instantly like the other three tracks on the album. One of the reasons for that is that although it is longer it has nowhere near the transitional changes that have been applied to the opening two tracks. What I tend to find with this particular song is that it tends to hang too long onto a theme or melody to stretch its way along rather than put more substance into it. However, after a few spins, things do start to sink in a bit more and it starts to grow on you enough to appreciate and like it.

This is actually Bjørndal‘s favourite track on the album and it was the first of the four songs that he originally worked on back in 2012. It’s also the song that has the newest parts and it was developed between 2012 – 2020. Unlike the other three songs on the album, this is the only track on the album where the musical side of things was co-written by Bjørndal and Wobblers bass player Kristian Hultgren.

Bjørndal bumped into Hultgren back in 2010 and have been close friends ever since. It was back in 2012 that the two of them formed a band called Most Above Many although the project never really got off the ground and was scrapped. It’s not so surprising why most of the band Wobbler appear on this album and why Hultgren got a special thank you in the liner notes. As I mentioned earlier without those guys I most certainly think this album would have never turned out as well as it did.

“Lighter Than Air” is a song that you really have to take the rough with the smooth and I would say over its years of development it does have its rough edges regarding how the transitions have been stitched together. Unlike the first two longer tracks on the album, it feels like more than one song and the only thing that holds it all together is the way it comes back together at the end. It is actually the way that it does that which got me to appreciate and like it more though personally for me this is my least favourite track of the four on the album.

The way the song opens up and ends are very smooth that some have described it as meditative, but there is way too much going on in this song for that to be the case. I would liken its intro and outro to something like a cross between Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons and Camel. To be honest there are a ton of influences that fly out of the woodwork during the course of this song even down to BOWIE-ESC! vocals and a WAKEMAN-ESC! synth solo.

What I will say though is that the interplay between the musicians is very good even if they do tend to hang onto some of the transitions a bit longer. The other thing I would say about this song is that it is different in that it lacks the folk presence of the other three songs. Although that’s not to say that it does not fit in with the rest of the material on the album and it does wind up the album quite well.

Summary & Conclusion…

To sum up and conclude my review of Magnified As Giants by Caligonaut. If I would have stumbled upon this album last year I would have most likely given it the prog album of the year award. As albums go this is highly addictive and an album I cannot stop playing, I may have already played it to death and I still cannot stop playing it. This is very much an album that has all the essence that progrock had back in its day yet it feels like a breath of fresh air.

To be honest, when I look at how long it took to make this album it amazes me how bands like Yes and Genesis could turn out an album every year and in some cases two albums in a year. Not even the likes of Wobbler can work at that rate and it just goes to show how much harder it is today to come up with something that sounds remotely like it came from those dark distant days of the early 70’s.

Though of course, without the likes of Kristian Karl Hultgren and Lars Fredrik Frøislie from that band, I personally don’t feel it would have been possible to have shaped this album to make it sound like it came from that decade. Although at the same time I cannot take anything away from Ole Michael Bjørndal‘s writing and I am sure he’s dead proud of how this album has turned out and truly grateful to all the musicians that helped him make it happen.

The only downside I can really see is that this is very much a home studio project and one that most likely will not be taken on the road so to speak. In this day and age, you need to be out playing live to earn a lot more recognition and gather a following. Though to be fair in terms of sales of the album he’s doing quite well and it’s no surprise either when you can churn out something as good as this.

Magnified As Giants is an album that should appeal to most PROGHEADS! including those who are serious about PROG! It’s albums like this that keep progrock alive and even a 62-year-old fart like myself would identify this album with the music we had all those years ago. Albums like this don’t drop on your lap or fall out of the sky, they are skillfully nurtured and constructed and you can see that a lot of time, thought and effort has been put into the making of it.

So what’s up next for Ole Michael Bjørndal? Well I know he’s working with Oak on a new album and he’s also co-written a new song (that can be heard on Bandcamp) which does run along with the same folkie vibe and presence that can be heard on three of the tracks on this album. However, having heard it a couple of times I can honestly say that it does not register to me like the sound of this album and the sound is the vital ingredient that makes it sound like it did all those years ago.

The only thing I can put it down to is that he chose to go with a different keyboard player and without Lars Fredrik Frøislie, I don’t think even this album would have sounded like the progrock we had many moons ago. He is, without doubt, the master when it comes to the sound of the progrock we had back in that seventies decade and is truly missed I am sorry to say.

The very reason why Wobbler are so consistent is down to that guy he is not only a GREAT! keyboard player but the bands recording and mixing engineer. In my opinion, he is the very guy that put Norway on the map for progrock and it’s that bands albums and this album that are very worthy contenders of the music we had all those years ago. As I mentioned in my introduction, I still live in the seventies and without that sound, you simply have not got progrock.

Magnified As Giants is a truly remarkable album and very much one I would suggest you get down your lugholes so to speak. The placement of the tracks on the album is very well thought out and you can listen to the entire album for free on the link I have provided below. I do highly suggest you at least give it a spin to hear it for yourself.

https://caligonaut.bandcamp.com/album/magnified-as-giants

Progrock With Fresh Air…

The Album Tracklisting is as follows:
01. Emperor. 14:35.
02. Hushed. 10:43.
03. Magnified As Giants. 5:46.
04. Lighter Than Air. 19:34.

The Packaging Rating Score. 7/10.
The Price Point Rating Score. 8/10.
The Album Rating Score. 10/10.

Lee Speaks About Music… #213

Live 2019 – Red Bazar

Introduction…

Having not been blown away or that impressed by the Red Bazar albums Tales From The Bookcase and Things As They Appear, I can tell you that things are definitely not how they appear when it comes to the bands live DVD. To be honest I was going to include my review of this DVD in my previous review of the bands 4th studio album but things got even more BIZARRE! as I delved deeper into this release it gave me, even more, to speak about though unfortunately more bad than good so to speak.

Although I should also stress that the bad points are mainly aimed at the product itself and not the actual concert which I will go into more detail about in this review. But before I do so I thought it would be a good idea to finish off the final part of the bands history in this final part of this three-part mini-series of reviews of the band.

With keyboardist Gary Marsh now out of the frame, the band went on to make a 5th studio album. However, it’s not exactly what you call a new album and for some reason, they decided to do a remake of the bands instrumental debut album Connections.

                                                                                          2021

To be honest I have never heard the album and instrumental albums made up of tracks are not really my bag at all hence the reason why I decided not to purchase these albums of theirs. I am not saying I completely dislike instrumental albums but I generally stick to those that have some concept behind them such as Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield or The Snow Goose by Camel.

Speaking of Camel I remember Andy Latimer doing a remake of that iconic classic album of theirs right after a spell of illness he had for a decade. I actually thought it was a stupid idea and I would have preferred to have seen a new album, you simply cannot better a classic like that by remaking it and poor ole! Peter Barden’s must have been turning in his grave.

As you can see, I have that classic album on display on my wall and no way on this earth would I put the 2013 remake there, it simply does not speak to me in the same vane. The only other instrumental album that was not made in the same way as those albums I mentioned and is made up of individual tracks I can think of that I like would have to be Surfing With The Alien by Joe Satriani.

I am sure there are others as well but it’s very rare that an instrumental album that is made up that way is going to rock my boat so to speak. As to if the new version of Connections is better than the original I am sure most purists will not see it being better though I am not one of them either and I actually prefer Oldfield’s 2003 remake of Tubular Bells to the original. But that would be down to the recording more than anything else plus the 5.1 mix.

I did however take a bit of time to listen to both versions of “The Meet” to compare the differences between them and what I will say is that the original sounds very BLAND! to me and lacks life in the recording department. It does also have keyboards though I can see why Mick Wilson wanted to bring in another keyboard player and the keyboard on the original sounds like a cheap Casio and is not the best at all.

The video above shows you the band playing the newer version of the track to promote Connections 2021 and it’s quite evident that the keyboards have more of a role, it’s also quite evident that here they are played by a PRO! and not someone who likes to have a tinkle on them every now and then. There is no doubt to my ears that the newer version has been given more emphasis and breathes life into the track.

Getting back to the bands live concert DVD it does appear that I got more than I bargained for with this release, although the extras turned out to be more of a nightmare in relation to anything good about the product. So let’s now take a look at how it comes.

Packaging & Artwork…

The DVD is very much homemade and to be honest, its price point of £12 is well over the odds of what one would expect to pay for a DVDR. It’s not the best packaging and even the quality of the picture they used for the cover is not the best either.

I can understand that Red Bazar is a band that’s far from in the limelight and like many bands will struggle to make a buck to survive. But if you are going to be selling a product at this price point it really needs a better presentation than the amateur job that has been done here.

Red Bazar Live In Review.

As far as I can make out the bands one and only Live Concert DVD entitled Red Bazar Live was released on the 4th of December 2019. It captures the now new 4 piece band at the Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer in the Netherlands. It’s a popular venue with both Pete Jones and the band and they have played there several times. As a matter of fact, the live CD/DVD release of A Visit to Zoetermeer by Tiger Moth Tales was captured at the same venue and at the same time as the DVD we have here.

However, when it comes to quality and value with how both packages are presented, I am sorry to say that the Red Bazar Live DVD is a bit of a RIP-OFF! and no way is it worth its price point of £12.

To be honest the band do not exactly go out of their way for you to find their live DVD and the only way I could find it was to google it. The Digital Download of the live concert (Audio Only) is on their store page with the rest of their discography, it even tells you that you can get the digital download free if you purchase the live DVD but no link to the DVD is on there.

It is however on their merchandise page along with the T-Shirts they sell which is perhaps a silly place to put it in my opinion. The reason why I stated that the DVD is a bit of a rip-off is down to it being homemade (as you can see in the pictures below) it looks totally unprofessional in relation to how Jones put out the package of his concert for the same price. Not only that his package comes with a CD and not some poxy digital download 😊😊😊.

You can plainly see that it’s a DVDR by the purple-coloured tinting coated on the surface of the disc and they could not even be bothered to spend a bit more money on a silver-coated disc to at least try and make it look a bit more professional. From my own personal experience, these types of discs do not last long and you will find that after a few years you will be lucky if the disc plays at all. No way is this product worth £12 and it should be sold for about a FIVER! (£5) at the most.

So far I have only touched on the negative points about the DVD’s presentation and no doubt things were done on the cheap, especially in relation to the quality product Pete Jones gives you for the same money. Anybody would think that Red Bazar was the support act at the venue and the way they have gone about this presentation is like chalk and cheese when you weigh up the two acts.

However, there is a plus side regarding the actual quality of the video footage you get here and that is that it was filmed and edited by the same crew. Although I did get the GREMLINS! with this product that much that I was frightened to play it again after my first experience with it. I will go into more about that later but first, let’s take a look at the DVD or in this case the DVDR.

The DVD.

Just like the Tiger Moth Tales DVD the disc only comes with a single menu and is very basic and simple to navigate your way along. The picture they have used for the background is also a damn sight better than the one they chose for the DVD case and is of much better quality.

Picture & Sound Quality.

The picture quality and editing side of things are where the real quality shines on this product and that is perhaps to be expected because the concert was filmed and edited by the same Dutch crew. The concert was very much captured with HD Cameras and this team I did give high praise to in my review of A Visit to Zoetermeer which you can check out here: https://leespeaksoutaboutmusic.wordpress.com/2020/04/26/lee-speaks-about-music-149/

Just like that Pete Jones concert the sound quality comes with one audio track which is Dolby Digital 2.0/48K. It’s perhaps not the best of stereo formats in relation to uncompressed LPCM but nevertheless is quite good and well acceptable.

Musicians & Credits…

All songs were written by Red Bazar. Recorded live at the Cultuurpodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer in the Netherlands on the 26th of January 2019. Camera Operators John Vis, Meriam Verkleij and Geert Schoonbeek. Editing by VideOmega.nl.

Musicians.
Peter Jones: Vocals & Keyboards.
Andy Wilson: Guitars.
Mick Wilson: Bass & Backing Vocals.
Paul Comerie: Drums.

The Concert In Review…

The concert was captured at the Cultuurpodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer in the Netherlands on the 26th of January 2019. It’s a much smaller venue than the 013 in Tilburg but like that venue, it does have a couple of rooms you can hire to put on a live show. You can find out a lot more about the venue in my review of A Visit to Zoetermeer by Tiger Moth Tales in the link provided above in the Picture & Sound Quality section. As I mentioned both concerts were filmed on the same day and Red Bazar was billed as the main act though you were clearly getting two acts for the price of one regarding the price of the ticket.

No doubt you were getting value for the buck regarding the concert itself, the same could be said of the live package Pete Jones put out with the CD & DVD of his concert. However, this concert on DVDR cost me a lot more in the long run and completely gave me the WILLIES! when I first played it in my 4K Blu-Ray Player. That much that I was too frightened to play it with that player again.

The Gremlins.

Before I go into the concert itself I thought I would include the experience I encountered when playing this DVDR. I should also explain that the DVDR is most likely not to blame and it may very well have been a coincidence that this nightmare of events happened. The disc may not come with any bonus features although in my case it may have come with some hazardous creatures known as the GREMLINS! 😊😊😊.

On the day the DVD arrived, I did not play it til the evening and had been watching my 50-inch Samsung UHD 4K TV for most of that day. I’ve had the TV for 3 years and purchased it in a sale from John Lewis back in 2019. The reason why it had come down in price so much was that this particular model originally came out the year before in 2018 but even so you do not expect a TV made by a reputable company to break down in such a short time period. Luckily for me, it also came with a free 5-year extended warranty otherwise it would have cost me a lot more to replace it.

Having inserted the DVD into my blu ray player I started to watch the concert and was quite enjoying it up till the halfway point when all of a sudden lines started to roll down the screen of my TV like the horizontal hold needed adjusting. My first reaction was to stop the disc and restart it but the same thing was happening. It was also at this point that I thought it must be a faulty DVD however, having turned off the blu ray player I noticed the same thing was now happening whilst watching the TV channels.

I then started to suspect that one of the HDMI cables might be on its way out and maybe causing the problem. I do have two of them running from my TV one for the Blu-Ray player and another for my AV Reciever and I did not want to spend too much time piddling about trying to fathom out which one was causing the problem and instead popped onto Amazon and ordered two new ones and they arrived the next day.

Having spent £20 on the cables and replacing them both it was then I discovered that I wasted my money because the same problem still existed and it did not provide a fix. It was at this point that I phoned up John Lewis to tell them the problem and was quite surprised when they told me they would send out an engineer on the same day. But it would not be till after 6:30pm as that was when the engineer was on his way home and as it happened he had to pass through my neck of the woods to get home which was perhaps why they were on the ball so quickly.

A couple of engineers arrived around 6:50pm and having inspected the TV they told me they would have to take it away for repair. I asked them how long it would take and they said around 10 days. I also asked them what was wrong with it and they told me it needed a new panel.

It was whilst the TV was away for repair that I started to look online at new TVs to see how much they had come down over the last 3 years and I happened to notice a 50-inch Samsung QLED TV on Amazon for £395. To be honest, when I brought my TV 3 years ago there was no way I could have afforded a QLED and you were looking at over a GRAND! for one easily. I also noticed that all other outlets were charging £550 for the same TV and the reason it was so cheap was down to it being a 2021 model.

I have to admit that at that price the TV was a bit of a tempting turkey and low and behold 5 days later John Lewis phoned me up to tell me that they could not fix the TV. They offered me a new 50-inch Panasonic to the value of £350 from their store or the same equivalent in cash back. At first, I thought it was a bit of cheek as I originally paid them £460 for my TV back in 2019 but they explained that they took off the rest for wear and tear over the years. Just goes to show you need to look at the small print that comes with any so-called extended guarantee.

I of course took the cash and put the extra £45 towards it and got the QLED from Amazon. Considering I ended up spending an extra £65 which may or may not have been down to this DVDR I can honestly say I was onto a winner and am over the moon with my new TV. It may have never happened if it was not for this Red Bazar release either. Whatever caused the fault you can be sure the GREMLINS! were at work. However, it turned out to be a good thing in the end.

I am however not going to risk fate twice and I am literally too scared to play this DVDR not only in my 4K Blu-Ray player but also in my other Blu-Ray and HD DVD Players. No way am I putting the new TV at risk even though I do have it covered with an extended guarantee. I shall stick to my computer to play this disc and that is how I was able to complete my review so let’s now get on with the show so to speak.

On With The Show…

The concert you get here is just over 89 minutes long and showcases many of the tracks from the bands 4th studio album Things As They Appear which happened to be released on the very same day this concert took place. Out of the eleven songs they play, six of them are actually from their new album at the time and they do take up the biggest majority of the show which may have been strange for their audience hearing them for the first time.

Although it’s not unusual when pre-ordering an album to receive it before the release date and they may very well have made sure that those in the Netherlands got them before the actual release date.

It’s nothing unusual for any artist or band to play new material at their live shows and they have done so for many years. Though most usually throw in one or two and not as many as we have here and this sort of takes me back to bands like Genesis and Pink Floyd with albums like The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and Animals. I have to confess that I myself may very well of been well pissed off if I was one of those that went to see Genesis in America hearing the Lamb for the first time. That album was that strange it took me over a decade to get into.

Thankfully the songs on Things As They Appear are more straightforward and accessible I would even say a lot more than their previous album Tales From The Bookcase which I personally found quite a chore to get through. Both albums have some pretty good tracks, to be honest, and thankfully this live concert does showcase more of the better tracks from both albums.

As the band enter the stage for the second time on that day the show begins with a short intro. It’s also obvious that Pete Jones still has his usual good sense of humour still with him as they roll out or roll up for the circus show that is contained in the opening track “Queen Of The Night (Part 1)” which happens to be one of the better songs from Tales From The Bookcase.

The band then proceed by rolling out three numbers from the new album at the time and the first of them is also one of the stronger numbers on the album entitled “Temple“. Although the band are very much doing an amicable job of performing the songs live, what I do tend to find is that they have left no room for improvisation and they are more or less playing them spot on to the studio tracks.

They do however put in a slight change to “Spiral” which is up next and this is a song I personally felt was put together with the wrong pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. To be honest, the way it opens up here no longer has that Genesis feel to it. I also noticed where the transitional change comes in with Andy Wilson’s guitar they have cut it down to half the time and Jones even throws in a bit of a counter melody on the piano to break up some of the monotony which is different. He also manages Gary Marsh’s original keyboard solo with ease and although the band pull off a fine performance I still feel this song is somewhat disjointed.

The band then roll out “Liar” and although I would not say that this song was a particular highlight of the show I do feel it’s one that is better suited to them. Throughout the whole of this concert, Jones’s voice is in fine form and some of the other things I quite like is how well John Vis and his crew have captured the bands drummer Paul Comerie in the right places.

It’s back to the bands third album next and “City And The Stars” is what I would call one of the highlights of the show and it happens to be my personal favourite track from the album. I would also say that it is one of the better PROGMATIC! songs that they do.

Although this performance (in the video below) is not taken from this live concert on the DVD it does show how well the band have performed it. It was also this very performance that did persuade me to buy Tales From The Bookcase.

The performance we have here was captured much earlier back in 2017 by the same camera crew more or less and was also in the Neverlands at a festival. It was also most likely a Tiger Moth Tales concert seeing how Jones still has his guitar on the stage with him and Gary Marsh was not present. One of the more notable things about the performance on the DVD is that Jones’s voice has more reverb applied to it. He may have also found the last words a bit more excruciating to get out in relation to the live performance a couple of years earlier than we have here.

Next up the band turn their attention away from their 3rd and 4th albums and roll-out the opening instrumental track from their debut album “The Meet“. The performance is pretty much like the promotional video I posted in my introduction and it shows that the band must have been working on the remake of their debut album at this stage. I quite like how they have placed it in the middle of the set they play here too and it works as a nice breaking point.

The band soothe things down with “Sunset For A New World” and then rolls out another three tracks from Things As They Appear starting with my personal favourite track from the album “The Parting” which is another of my personal highlights of the show. “Nothing Left” I described as one of the mediocre tracks on the album in my review of it. Though I will say seeing it performed live speaks to me differently even though there does not appear to be anything really different.

Pete Jones then announces the final song of the evening “We Will Find You” to which once again they do an amicable job with this performance. But the show is not quite over as they come back on for an encore and roll out “Calling Her On” which is perhaps not the song I would have chosen to end off the show but nevertheless, it seems to work well enough.

Summary & Conclusion…

To sum up and conclude my review of Red Bazar Live 2019. Overall it’s not a bad concert and the musicians are more than comfortable pulling off the very good live performance you get here. It’s also been captured very well on film or video with HD cameras. The fact that this concert does showcase some of the better tracks from the albums Tales From The Bookcase and Things As They Appear makes this concert much more enjoyable to watch.

However, the downside has to be the presentation and it beats the hell out of me why a band would spend that sort of money on making a live concert video only to present it on the cheap like this. Totally LUDRICOUS! is the word that springs to mind here and no way could I really recommend it, especially at its price point of £12 which is way over the odds for a DVDR.

When it comes to value your money is much better spent on A Visit To Zoetermeer Live by Tiger Moth Tales. That not only gives you genuine quality for the buck but comes at a bargain price. To be honest I prefer the music of that Pete Jones project in relation to this band and I personally feel his live concerts have that extra bit of magic seeing him play two instruments at the same time.

That is not however taking anything away from Red Bazar and these guys really can play and still put on a good show. By having both concerts you do have the complete two performances that took place on the same day at the venue. It is only the presentation that really lets it down.

May Come With Gremlins…

The Live Set-List is as follows:

01. Intro.
02. Queen Of The Night (Part 1).
03. Temple.
04. Spiral.
05. Liar.
06. City And The Stars.
07. The Meet.
08. Sunset For A New World.
09. The Parting.
10. Nothing Left.
11. We Will Find You.
12. Calling Her On. 

The Packaging Rating Score. 1/10.
The Price Point Rating Score. 1/10.
The Picture & Editing Quality Rating Score. 10/10.
The Sound Quality Rating Score. 8/10.
The Concert Rating Score. 7/10.

Lee Speaks About Music… #212

Things As They Appear – Red Bazar

Introduction…

The second part of this two-part mini-series of reviews of the music of Red Bazar focuses on the bands 4th studio album Things As They Appear. As I mentioned in my previous review it would not be long before Pete Jones’s role in the band would stretch to more than just being a singer, although the bands keyboard player Gary Marsh had not quite left the band at this stage. However, his role was now having to make some comprises and that is perhaps why this was the final album he appeared on.

To be honest it’s unclear just what Marsh’s role is on this album according to the album credits he’s not even a member of the band. Red Bazar is a band that doesn’t exactly make things easy when it comes down to researching information about them. They are not a band that keeps up to date with things such as photo shoots and although Facebook is about the most resourceful place for information on the band, there are times when you have to make your own observations, making it hard for reviewers like myself to go into any great detail about them.

I was originally going to make this a two-part series of the bands music and include their Live Concert DVD in this review partially because of not having that much to write or speak about. But in the end, I decided to turn it into a three-part series and felt it needed its own space. That’s not to say that the bands music does not speak to me and this particular album speaks to me a damn sight more than their previous effort. If anything Things As They Appear is an album where the band developed a style that I personally think is better suited to them. But before I go any further let’s take a look at how it comes.

Packaging & Artwork…

This is the bands second album to be released on White Knight Records and just like their previous album Tales From The Bookcase, they have gone along with the same Digipak idea that comes with a die-cut pocket to store the booklet. Speaking of the booklet this one comes with a 12-page one that contains all the liner, production notes and lyrics but does not provide any informative information.

Unlike their previous album, it can still be obtained from the White Knight Records store and I managed to pick it up my copy from there for a bargain price of £9.00 plus £1.80 p+p. Overall it’s a very neat package and for the best price, I would recommend you purchase it from the store in relation to other outlets.

Artwork.

The cover design and artwork were done by the bands keyboard player Gary Marsh. As I could not find any reference to Sawtooth Design who did the design for their previous album. That may have also been done by Marsh. I quite like the album cover and the hooded chap on front of it makes me think of the Neal Morse album Sola Scriptura although he’s perhaps taking a break from sweeping up the courtyard.

The Album In Review…

The bands 4th studio album Things As They Appear by Red Bazar was released on the 26th of January 2019. The album itself contains 8 vocal tracks that spread over an overall playing time of 55 minutes, 14 seconds. It’s perhaps too long to squeeze onto a single vinyl LP but nevertheless, unlike their previous album, I don’t find it a chore to get through in one sitting.

Upon listening to the material on this album it does appear that the band are heading in a new direction and the particular style of that direction is more rock driven which I feel is better suited to this band. I would also say that some of the material we have here is more in line with what I heard with their latest single “State Of Grace” which led me to check out this band in the first place.

I think the fact that this album is more rock driven is one of the main reasons why this album appeals to me more. It’s perhaps really down to how the bass player Mick Wilson and guitarist Andy Wilson’s contrasting styles can clash in particular when it comes to trying to play and do something more along the lines of progrock.

For example, there is no doubt in my mind that they have a PROGMATIC! bassist, whereas the guitarist has too much of a metal background and his lead solos can be at times less attractive and lack ideas for them to fit in with the PROGMATIC! and even CLASSIC ROCK! side of things.

That’s not to say that Andy Wilson is not a good guitarist and that is far from the case, though his lines can be more along the lines of shred and shrill which is perhaps more common in today’s music in relation to the many classic guitar solos that mostly came out of the rock world many moons ago. When it comes to guitar solos I rather think that Pete Jones has more ideas though they can be quite often borrowed from the likes of Steve Hackett and Gary Moore.

As I mentioned in my introduction it is unclear what Gary Marsh’s role is on this album and that really comes across to me via looking at how things have been worded in the booklet. For example, on the back page of the booklet (as seen below), you can clearly see that he is no longer a member of the band and special thanks have been given to him for keyboard arrangments for 7 of the 8 tracks that are on the album.

However, when taking a look at the inside of the booklet you can plainly see that his role extends to more than just keyboard arrangments especially when you take a look at the credits that have been given to him on those 7 tracks. You may have to use the zoom on your web browser to read the credits (I have outlined them with a red marker as seen below) but as you can see he also plays keyboards on 7 of the tracks although most of the keyboard solos are played by Jones.

Gary Marsh’s departure from the band came about well before the album was released, most likely a good 10 months before so they had obviously been working on the album for quite a while. Judging by this photo that was posted on the bands Facebook page on the 1st of May 2018 he most likely left the band back in April 2018.

Although the band never posted anything about why he left the band I am sure there is an amicable reason and they parted on good terms. It stands to reason that there was no need for two keyboard players and it would have added to further costs when touring and downsizing the band would have been the sensible option.

Oddly enough in terms of sales Things As They Appear did not attract the attention as their previous album Tales From The Bookcase. Though I must stress that my observation is a guesstimation and is based on the amount of feedback on their store or Bandcamp page that they have incorporated into their website and not from the sales of other outlets.

Musicians & Credits…

Produced by Red Bazar. All Songs Written by Wilson, Comerie, Wilson, Jones. Keyboard Arrangements on tracks 1,2,3,5,6,7 & 8 by Gary Marsh. Recording Engineer Mick Wilson. Mastering by 7Gate Media, Cover Art & Design by Gary Marsh.

Musicians.
Andy Wilson: Guitar.
Mick Wilson: Bass.
Pete Jones: Vocals – Keyboards.
Paul Comerie: Drums.

Additional Musicians.
Gary Marsh: Keyboards & Arrangements.

The Album Tracks In Review…

Things As They Appear is not really what I would call a concept album however there does seem to be a theme going on regarding the lyrical content with how it generally tends to focus on one particular subject. Musically the album does tend to run along like a collection of songs in the way that none of the tracks run seamlessly into each other sort of thing.

I personally think this is where the band became a bit more cohesive and found their feet, and even though it still contains mostly lengthy tracks around the 6 to 7-minute mark, I do feel they have trimmed things down better and there is less overcooking in relation to their previous album.

Track 1. Temple.

The album gets off to a flying start with its opening track and launches its way in style and at quite a fast pace. Just like I felt the albums cover had a bit of Neal Morse touch to it so does this particular song in parts. Though I am sure there are many other influences flying out of the woodwork including once again the likes of Frost* who are a band that started off very well with their debut album and sort of lost the plot by applying too many modern gadgets and reverse effects to their music for my taste.

Thankfully this band have not gone quite that far and what we have here is a track that is perhaps a bit more on the PROGMATIC! side of things with its transitional changes though it does in many ways feel more ROCK! driven. I suppose the best way I could describe it is that it’s more like what the band Yes did with Trevor Rabin on albums like 90125 and Big Generator in relation to what the band did back in the early 70’s which was progrock.

Despite the influences, the “Temple” is, without a doubt, one of the stronger tracks on the album. The lyrical content pertains to cults and those who think they are above everything and It features some excellent guitar work from Andy Wilson including a BLISTERING! solo. The bass and drums hold it up very well and even though Pete jones is only singing on this track, he very much puts his “ORE” into it with how he uses different vocal characteristics to deliver it.

Track 2. Nothing Left.

Quite a comedown from the previous track and this is a song that lyrically deals with emotions that are tied around a broken-down relationship. It’s perhaps a song that has too much to say about the subject matter over the near enough 8 minutes you get here. Though I will say the words are put very well into context. Musically the song has very little to say and not even the lengthy keyboard solo played by Jones at the end adds enough to the tank. Overall it’s not a bad song but rather a mediocre effort methinks.

Track 3. Liar.

This next song is most likely aimed at politicians (as in the picture I chose) if anything it perhaps portrays the truth about politics. The song itself has more of a direct rock approach to it which I think suits the bands style very well if I’m being truthful myself. It also incorporates a nice little bridge that features some quite nice pumping bass work from M. Wilson and another BLISTERING! lead guitar solo from A. Wilson that adds an extension to it all.

Overall “Liar” is one of those songs that tends to run across the familiar ground of many popular rock songs and its more popular approach might not sit that well with fans of their previous album. However, the 6.5 minutes you get here I feel is very well utilised and is not overcooked. It also feels like it’s over in 4 minutes so the band must be doing something right.

Track 4. Rocky Bone Runway.

The longest track on the album is up next and regarding the lyrical content, there does generally tend to be a theme going on regarding false hope, leaders and dictators throughout the album. This is also the only track on the album that Gary Marsh took no part in and it was most likely written after he had left. Considering the song is just under 8.5 minutes it does tend to have too many words and perhaps says too much for its own good in some respects.

However, that’s not to say it’s a bad song though I do feel more thought could have been applied to the musical direction, especially over this distance and at times it does tend to be saying the same thing for too much of the time so to speak.

Track 5. Spiral.

There are times when I get the feeling that when it comes to writing and putting songs together the band tend to run out of ideas, especially when trying to do something a bit more PROGMATIC! and “Spiral” is a prime example. Musically the song starts off a bit like “Entangled” by Genesis with its melody line, however the vocal line sort of blends something else into it that gives me the impression of something that would suit a female singer for a Bond Movie sort of thing. At this point, the song is running more along the lines of a pop song and with its duration being some 7 minutes and 39 seconds long it even has me wondering where on earth are they going to be taking it.

The first thing they try to do is beef the song up a bit by injecting a bit of power into it that comes into play with A. Wilson’s guitar around the 3:09 mark. To be honest I am not really sure that this transitional change works and the very fact that it drags on for 40 seconds gives me the impression that the band are hanging around in limbo and have no idea where to go next.

The next few verses stay in the beefed-up mode and the vocal line injects a bit more aggression into it all which is all very well but once again I get the feeling that it is out of character with how the song started. The song then gets rounded off with a 2-minute 47 seconds keyboard solo played by Marsh that adds a bit more excitement to it but leaves me thinking that everything is out of context and was put together with the wrong pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Track 6. Future Song.

The “Future Song” is another near-enough 7-minute song that tends to have too much going on in the lyric department once again. However, that may very well be down to the song’s chorus which is very repetitive in the way that it never changes the words and is utilised three times in the song. It does however feature a couple of nice solos from Jones and A. Wilson that at least break up some of the monotony of the chorus.

The lyrical content itself is verging on striving for better times and possibilities for the future and the only way that can really happen is when those in power give peace a real chance which it is more or less pointing out so to speak.

Track 7. The Parting.

The shortest track on the album happens to be my personal favourite and that’s most likely down to the band putting more into this just under five-minute song than any other track on the album. This is a track where the band really work to their full potential and the bass player, in particular, comes right out of his shell and does an excellent job plucking the hell out of the strings. It’s very much a song that kicks ass and the main riff is very heavy and a bit like “Into The Lens” by Yes. Only it has a lot more power and energy to drive it along.

The lyrical content portrays the dividing line in a broken-down relationship and inflicts all the anger and pain that goes along with it. Once again the words are very well put into context and Jones does an admiral job of delivering them. The whole band are on fire here and is firing on all cylinders. It’s also more fitting to Andy Wilson’s guitar style and in all honesty, I personally feel that this rock side of things is better suited to this band. You can listen to the song here:

It just goes to prove that you don’t have to make songs 9 to 15 minutes long to try and make them PROGMATIC! Especially when you can throw in just as much or even more into a 4 or 5-minute song like this. You also have to be just as skilful to pull off a rock song like this too and this song easily merits the albums TOP SPOT AWARD!

Track 8. We Will Find You.

The final track on the album is quite dark, sinister and different and certainly different to the more humorous side of things I chose with the picture. In many respects, it is something of a new approach or the sort of angle with what they have done with “State Of Grace” especially the lyrical content in that it’s about censorship that is sort of forced upon by the government. In many ways, it’s like being put under surveillance by them and Big Brother is watching you and is like something out of a spy film which is also the way the band dramatise it with the musical side of things too.

I personally don’t think this song will be lighting any fires with their fans and it perhaps lacks the vocal characteristics that were given to the song from their new album that is to come. However, what I do admire is that they are heading into a newer direction musical-wise and one that I personally think is better suited to the band. I don’t dislike this track by any means and it rounds off the album very well.

Summary & Conclusion…

To sum up and conclude my review of Things As They Appear by Red Bazar. I would say that it’s an album that gives me the impression that the band are heading in a new direction or approach to their music and are coming at it from another angle so to speak. It’s also an album where I do feel I got more for my money even if like their previous album it’s far from what I would call a solid album and once again only a half-decent one.

To be perfectly honest I feel this new direction is much better suited to the band simply because I personally feel that this is a band that needs to stick to shorter songs. The reason for my reasoning this way is that with the longer material I do feel that not enough space is given to the musical direction and they over utilise it by throwing in too many lyrics most of the time.

I did mention in my previous review that I felt there were better things to come from Red Bazar and upon my first spin of this album it really felt that way, especially with this new rockier approach they were applying to their music. The bands latest song release “State Of Grace” does appear to be continuing with this new direction which I like. Although as to if the rest of their forthcoming album Inverted Reality lives up to it we shall have to wait and see.

If it doesn’t I am afraid it will leave me no choice but to knock this band on the head, simply because I see no point in spending money on half-decent albums all the time and you would be better off buying tracks rather than the album. That is something I personally hate to see in this day being that I am more of an avid collector of the physical product myself. My personal highlights from the album are “Temple“, “Liar” and “The Parting“.

Things Might Not Be As They Appear At Times…

The Album Tracklisting is as follows:
01. Temple. 6:55.
02. Nothing Left. 7:58.
03. Liar. 6:29.
04. Rocky Bone Runway. 8:26.
05. Spiral. 7:39.
06. Future Song. 6:56.
07. The Parting. 4:53.
08. We Will Find You. 5:58.

The Packaging Rating Score. 10/10.
The Price Point Rating Score. 10/10.
The Album Rating Score. 5/10.