Level Pi – Entrance. 2006. D: 11. A rare modern album on the Garden of Delights label, Level Pi is the work of one Uwe Cremer, who plays all the instruments here. What Uwe has done, quite simply, is take the ethos of Manuel Gottsching / Ashra and dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. The guitar playing is exquisite throughout. 8 long tracks of cosmic guitar and electronics. Nice variety too – some more rock oriented, other ambient, a little Berlin School sequencing, and again others have an industrial edge. Cosmic Hoffman and even some of Electric Orange’s more earnest Krautrock efforts would be other reference points. Very, very good.

Immune – 1/F. 2006. D: 9. I’ve had Immune’s album for 3 months and still can’t put words together for a review. I struggle with the more mainstream newer bands like Porcupine Tree (Version 2.0), Pure Reason Revolution, Tool, Radiohead, etc… I like them all, but more from the mind than the heart. I think they all took too much of the grunge movement with them. Certainly I don’t expect, or want, all new bands to have influences that stop in 1972, so it’s cool they incorporate what they themselves grew up with. But the whole whiny/serious/pouty/shoegaze thing never spoke to me. Their troubles are not anything I can relate to, plus I’m not sure I care anyway. They could all stand to read a book like Gregg Easterbrook’s “The Progress Paradox.” Anyway, as I said, I do like it, because of the sheer variety of the material. Very much a big budget professional release, or at least sounds like one. As usual, Pink Floyd is the group of choice from Dad or Grandpa. The other influences are the popular alternative/indie/grunge bands of their peers or youth. No surprise, but the instrumental parts work far better than the vocal ones. The most surprising sounds are the atmospheric symphonic jazz parts – highlights for sure.

Blue Sky Theory – Good Place, No Place. 2006. D: 10. Like I said about Crime in Choir, the Bay Area’s Blue Sky Theory are probably more of what I expect out of a modern progressive group. The first 4 tracks are really something – highly spirited rock, that’s extremely compact and complex. Sort of how Echolyn were in their early 90s prime. In a couple of places even the ghost of Yezda Urfa makes an appearance – and when was the last time you heard a modern band sound like that? They can be that dizzying! Vocals are primarily female, and she has that full bodied voice that reminds me of Tale Cue – in fact, that’s another reference overall for their sound, along with possibly Leger de Main due to the pace they keep. A traditional 5 piece, it’s the guitarist that really stands out. He rarely solos, but plays all sorts of complicated charts, in the rarified distorted sound category. Has to take some gumption to lay it all on the line like that. Like a lot of modern bands, BST have a lot to say, which frankly gets in the way of the good music. I can appreciate a good story, maybe more as context for the music, rather than explicitly sung. Strangely, the hyper intensity of the first 4 tracks are completely abandoned afterwards for a much more straightforward sound. Closer to a typical indie rock, with a few surprises here and there, but nothing at all like the opening. It’s almost two different albums. To be fair, it fits more with the story line… but I did find my mind wandering. According to the band’s website, it appears the band will focus more on an “atmospheric” sound. Can’t blame them – all that complexity can be tiring to many audiences, plus it’s not typically a good thing for the personal ledger. No matter, Blue Sky Theory have an entirely unique album here. One that could be considered a landmark for future fans and bands.
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