THE SCREW-LOOSE ENTERTAINMENT

Very good and promising new instrumental Russian Band.They mis Crimso-influenced math-rock with folk and even tribal tunes,add some spacy and improvised spots,but never lose the sense of melody...some tracks even can be regarded as catchy!!! Perfect musicianship, recognizable style, great quality of the whole record - they know how to please a Progger! Nevertheless, they're also aware of ways of SHOCKING a Progger - you can find here dozens of bits when your mouth would be widely opened from in surprise, believe me. Highly recommended! DISEN GAGE promise to release their third one later this year ("Libertage" was mostly an avant experiment made on 90% from free improvisations of the band).When you're asking what will be the greatest discovery for Porg in 2007, I'll take a risk to propose RUSSIAN PROG , varied and interesting, on this role. Enjoy!!!

Very Disengaged ...

Wow! This is the debut of a very interesting russian band - excellent and very professional with great interaction between the musicians. Not to ignore - their music is often refering to KING CRIMSON and remembers me at 'Discipline' a lot. No keyboards and no vocals (excepting some spoken words). The twin guitar work is dominating the 10 short songs - sometimes similar to Fripp/Belew. They combine this also in a special way with other styles - Psychedelic - JazzRock/Fusion - jamming and a unique russian flavour.

The opener Solaris is convincing with a funky fusion bass - beginning with a psychedelic intro and then gliding into a groovy rocking part. Komar contains excellent drum work and Augenapfel is a very dynamic JazzRock track. Kategeriin first of all sounds like a country rock song and consists of many freaky effects - fabulous! Arabia is a tremendous ride - very much fusion again. Latino and Waltz are exactly what the song name promises. And Jewboilove is another very freaky song with saxophon accompaniment.

'The Screw-Loose Entertainment' is a fresh and ambitous work - very interesting to hear. Highly recommended to CRIMSON progheads and also to Jazz Rock/Fusion fans.

Russian outfit DISEN GAGE was formed in Moscow in 1999 by students Konstantin Mochalov, Yuri Alaverdyan, and Nikolai Syrtsev.Soon drummer Eugeny Kudryashov joined them and the band gained some decent popularity playing at college festivals and recording an amount of self-produced cassettes.During this period the three main members continued their studies as researchers on Bio-Organic Chemistry and the band was set on ice.Despite the difficulties they released their debut ''The Screw-Loose Entertainment'' in 2004 on RAIG,after which oroginal guitarist Yuri Alaverdyan left to continue his academic career in Sweden.

STYLE: While the band states as being an Experimental Prog Rock act,I definitely deny with this term.The reason is that after so many listenings of bands being heavily influenced by the mid-70's Crimson-esque style of prog,the term ''experimental'' just fades away.This is guitar-driven Prog Rock strongly rooted in Jazz-Fusion with touches of Ethnic Music.Almost totally instrumental (except some scarce spoken words), ''The Screw-Loose Entertainment'' runs at 40 minutes offering fusion-esque musicianship with lots of breaks,cold atmospheres but also a decent amount of melody.Bass work can range from solid rhytmic patterns to almost funky grooves,while the guitar work with a Fripp-ian influence varies from heavy parts to melodic passages.Notice some interesting guitar distortions and effects,which make the album sounding a bit experimental.Drum work is also quite solid,without being anything excepttional and follows consistently the rest of the musicians.

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: With a guitarist playing his instrument sitting on a chair during the lives,can you imagine something else than ROBERT FRIPP's KING CRIMSON as an influence?Similar bands are also BI KYO RYAN,DIFICIL EQUILIBRIO,TRYO and maybe CABEZAS DE CERA.

PLUS: Excellent bass work,it really stands out!The use of some effects,light keys and guitar distortions prevents the album to sound mechanical.Good thing is the decent amount of melodies here and there.Musicianship is tight and really captivating.Nice alternation between slow- and fast tempos.Production is above average.

MINUS: Another band with a somewhat unpersonal style,the guitar work can only bring ROBERT FRIPP in mind.The tracks sound rather similar due to the limited instrumentation and the specific style of guitar playing.

WILL APPEAL TO:...anyone after guitar-based Prog Rock,KING CRIMSON-influenced music and a nice entry for someone who hasn't been in touch with a similar style of progressive music.

CONCLUSION: The same story again as in lot of cases.A band with obvious talent but without daring a step forward.A couple of tracks with added saxes are a good guide for a richer sound and the future.Good album overall,but not something ground-breaking.3 stars.

I missed out on the 2004 debut album by Disen Gage when it came out first time around, but it has now been made available again. This was the only album to feature the original line-up of Yury Alaverdyan (guitar, percussion), Konstantin Mochalov (guitar, keyboards), Nikolai Syrtsev (bass, keyboards, percussion) and Evgeny Kudryashov (drums, percussion), and it is quite different in approach to the style of the band I came across later on. The guitars are incredibly important, with a very strong King Crimson feel to proceedings (especially 'Discipline' era), although there are also moments when it appears that Gilmour has also been a major influence. It is far heavier and straightforward, less experimental than their more recent albums, so much so it is almost like a different band. It must be quite a shock for fans to move from this to 'Hybrid State' as an example, where scientists make music in the course of an experimental procedure, and directly in the lab (the band originally got together when they were students, and followed careers in chemistry).

The label describes the album like this, 'Moscow scientists debut offers a highly concentrated twist on instrumental rock - a musical journey that leads listeners through the entire range of emotions without even needing words.' Don't think they're mad professors, although it would be useful to understand just what they are doing with this highly complex and complicated music as it turns, spins and whirls, with the result that any fan of Fripp is going to love this. The rhythm section is dynamic, and it is often the bass providing the warmth as the guitar interweave and construct strange patterns. Sometimes there is crunch, at others plenty of staccato picking, but it is always intriguing, and one never knows what is going to happen next. This may be very different to the band I came to know, yet is another great example of why in my mind they are one of the top bands to come out of Russia.

3.5 stars. DISEN GAGE are a four piece from Moscow who formed in 1999. We get two guitarists, bass and drums, but on this their 2004 debut we get some guest sax, percussion and keyboards. These guys have a sense of humour as witnessed by their album and song titles. The debut here is the only one to feature the original lineup with one of the guitarists leaving after this album. Not a bad thing considering the new guitarist has helped this band go into a more original sound, instead of the KING CRIMSON sound that is constant on this one.

This comes across as a tribute to the "Discipline" album. The two guitarists may not be Fripp and Belew but they are amazing. My favourite track is the opener "Solaris" for those spacey sounds we don't get anywhere else on here. Plus the guitars are the most aggressive on this song. Really it's the first three tracks that are my favourites on this album, then I kind of get tired of the "Discipline" vibe. I'm not into the last three songs at all. "Latino" with the Spanish guitar and "Waltz" which is exactly that. Oh yeah they're from Russia.

Lots to like here that's for sure, but lacking originality and a little samey this one. Their 2008 release called "...The Reverse May be True" is the one to get. We still get those KING CRIMSON guitars but more angular stuff on that one, plus it is quite a powerful album. "The Screw-Loose Entertainment" is a very nice start to their careers though.