Did anyone notice that our followers went over the two thousand mark this week?

Just thought I’d mention it

I loved We’re Here Because We’re Here. Weather Systems was also really good. So I was looking forward to my first play of the new album Distant Satellites. The familiar keyboard strings started and for 15 seconds it was nice and then the drum kicks in at a hundred miles an hour. I wasn’t expecting that. I listened all the way through and at the end I thought that I must have missed something. My immediate thought was that it sounded very samey. Does that make sense? What I mean is that every track started quiet, repeated the tune a lot and grew to a loud intense bit and then got quiet again at the end. I had to play it again. This time I noticed the Drum Machine sounds that some people have compared to Kid A Radiohead. It still didn’t do anything for me, apart from two stand out tracks and I do mean stand out. The first is The Lost Song Part 2 and the second is Ariel. They both stick to the formula I mentioned earlier but they are good songs but sung really well with great emotion and both by Lee. The rest of it is disappointing to me…… but why?

My favourite Anathema song ever is “Everything”. So maybe I am comparing this new album to that and its not coming up to scratch. But then I started thinking a bit more . ( which can sometimes be a bit dangerous for me ) What do Anathema think of this album? I bet they think it is the best thing they have ever done.

I am sure a lot of you know I am half of the teen pop sensation Salander. Just this week we have finished the recording of our yet untitled new album. Depending on how long it takes to finish the mixing, it could be out in the next few weeks. We had some fantastic reviews for our last album ( thanks Brad ) but we never felt we were competing with it when recording the new one. However, as each new track was recorded there was this feeling that it was the best thing we had ever done. As an artist I think you will always feel this because each new track is fresh and in the moment. But as a consumer I will always compare to my favourite songs. Tony Banks said that he preferred the songs Genesis recorded later in their existence to their earlier work. Hang on….you think Invisible Touch is better than Suppers Ready!! But as an artist you have to think that way or you might as well not record anything else. As a consumer I will always have my favourites to compare to. As an artist I want to experiment and come up with something new. As a consumer I want familiarity.

Just because I think that Anathema’s new album isn’t as good as WHBWH doesn’t make it a bad album. As I said, there are some great moments on it. But its the best album Anathema thinks Anathema has made. And fair play to them.

I came to Devin Townsend very late. The first album I heard was Epicloud.  The track “True North” became an instant all time favourite. I then explored the rest of his catalogue. There was a lot of interesting music. He is not called the Mad Professor for nothing. I loved the way he layered guitar upon guitar to create a real bombastic sound. Although some of the real heavier stuff was a bit too heavy for me, there was plenty to enjoy and I became a fan. So it was with great pleasure that I heard there was a new album on the way. More of the same I thought.

NO!   ( imagine the sound of a fast car screeching to a halt type effect). This is Devin Townsend with the ability to surprise. And what a surprise.

So what does it sound like. “It sounds like Johnny Cash songs. Late night music, completely isolated sounding and different than anything I’ve done,” Devin wrote on his blog. It is country…sort of, but on one track there are shades of Anathema. At times it sounds like K.D. Lang during her Ingénue period. There are chugging country rhythms and twang guitars but what makes this album stand out and away from your typical country album are the song structures and the way Devin uses reverb and delay. This album sounds amazing. This shouldn’t be a surprise because Devin knows how to record and achieve fantastic sounds but I think the production and engineering on this album is spectacular. The vocals are down in the mix but you can still hear them clearly and I must say that having never even heard of   Ché Aimee Dorval before, she has a superb voice.

Whilst listening to the songs my thoughts drifted away and I felt I was sitting around a campfire and learning from the native americans. Each song merges into the next so the magic that is created is never disturbed by silence.Every song creates an image although I doubt if anyone would expect the kind of image that comes with the video for “Mountaintop”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5b7oMdmZm4

Is this album Prog. No. Is this a great album for a Prog fan. Yes.Ché Aimee Dorval has added another string to  Devins’ bow and he  proves that he is a versatile and relevant artist in todays music world and just because you are metal doesn’t mean you have to stick with metal. This is a great album regardless of genre.

I am still on holiday and it is still hot. I needed some soothing music to listen to, to while away an afternoon and chose this album by Iamthmorning. It was released last year and I came upon it whist trawling through Bandcamp. Every now and then a little gem comes along when you least expect it and this album is it. How to describe it?  Prog folk mixed with a chamber orchestra mixed with ambient piano and a female vocalist with an amazing …and I do mean amazing voice. They come from St Petersburg and are studying music at the academy there. Marjana Syomkina is the vocalist and Gleb Kolyadin]  plays piano and keyboards. The sound they produce is so simple yet so effective and mesmerizing. They are Russian and yet the vocals sound to me to have an Irish lilt at times. She sings in perfect English with a clear crisp tone that blends in so well with the instrumentation.

Intermission starts with the sound of the seashore and leads into “inside” which builds from piano and vocal to climax with vocals not unlike Tori Amos. ” Burn ” rocks out a little more but then ” Circles” calms it all down sounding like All About Eve. The piano playing throughout is wonderful and the strings add sparkles and can change the mood at a stroke. ” Intermission ii ” is another instrumental piece with a cello taking the lead. Beautiful. ” Weather Changing ” has an eastern vibe with the strings again setting the mood. After a vocal “Intermission iii” we have “Scotland”. Sweet vocals layer on top of a Capercaille type soundscape. This builds and builds to become one of the highlights of the album. “Touching ii ” starts with plucked strings and ends with a string ensemble. Wonderful stuff. The rest of the album contains more of the same. Great piano playing, wonderful strings and a voice I defy you not to fall in love with.

This album is available at bandcamp where you can download for whatever price you choose. Try it…then try and tell me I am wrong.