INK

Two years in the making, 'Ink' is a dream come true for Pervy Perkin, a 6-piece band hailing from Murcia in Spain. In fact, their goal was to bring the various musical genres they listen to into one unique musical project, and they quite succeeded in this endeavour as their album defies any genre.

If one wanted to label the music of our young spanish musicians, progressive hard-rock would be the best label, the main features being swirling keyboards, raging guitars and drums crackling with energy. This is true when you listen to the first CD of their ambitious project. But then you listen to the second CD, and you soon realize that some tracks are definitely in a completely different mood. "Shades Under a City Lamppost" is electronic music (ambient through the slow notes and bombastic with the more flashy bridge). "Memories of the Water" and "S!urm" are alternative rock (the former with typical vibrating guitars and undecided drums of this style, yet with a short hardcore passage, the latter including zappaesques, hard-rock and hip-hop touches). "Asleep in a Wormhole" is psychedelic pop in a circus arena. "3.11 A.M. (The Crystal Clock)" and "Epilogue" are sunny pop songs. On the first CD, even if this hotchpotch of styles is less obvious, the band already warns us about many possible digressions from a traditional progressive rock line. In fact, the opener is nothing more than the soundtrack to an unexisting movie, with the tearful trumpet, the pleading choir and galloping strings bringing back to memory the scores of Ennio Morricone for western movies. While "The Tree in the Sky" is mostly brazilian music with flute evoking wild forrest, classical guitar and hypnotic drums. In the same spirit of overture to other musical styles, "Falling from Earth" is a sad lullaby where the mournful voice is accompanied only by a melancholic guitar.

Even in their progressive rock tracks, the band feels the need to throw in here and there elements of other musical horizons. The classical music elements abound indeed (canon vocals in "Of Echoes and Reflections", strings in the same song, Renaissance music with the classical guitar of "The Tree in the Sky", music of the Middle Ages with the melody line of "Far Away Crusade Defending the Colonies of Satellite A.T.L.A.S"). Elements of popular musical styles are present as well (funk, reggae, circus music, latin music, ragtime, rock'n'roll, punk, hip-hop, trip-hop). Traditional elements are not forgotten (sea shanties, an accordion, an arabian motif).

We see that our promising band considers two definitions of progressive rock: a music with rhythm changes and abundance of solos on one hand, a music that blends many different styles on another hand. Besides, the progressive side of their music can be further witnessed in the vocals. Those can be indeed mournful or more cheerful, involving both male and female vocalists. Another sign of their open-mindedness is the (very spare) addition of death metal growls. Humour is also invited as circus music and zappaesques are included in their musical world. Progressive music, as envisioned by Perky Pervin, is not only about rehashing the recipe of the retro-prog rock acts where long guitar and keyboard solos support changing rhythms. It is also in creating surprise by bringing together many various musical styles, and by creating contrasts in vocals.

Pervy Perkin, just as their compatriots of Cheeto's Magazine, are a breath of fresh air and a wealth of originality in the somewhat breathless world of progressive rock. For some listeners, their music might sound lacking consistency as the unexpected elements come all of sudden. Besides, some people might have the impression that the band is still looking for an identity, as taken as a whole, the album might sound as a sampler with many different bands. In my opinion, that is no issue, as their goal is clearly to belong to the most adventurous group of progressive rock acts, along with bands like Dixie Dregs, Mr. Bungle, Praxis or Modest Midget. Given their young age (20 y.o. at the time of the album's release), we are really surprised by the quality of the compositions and their good use of elements of their various influences. Let's hope that they will continue on the path of eclecticism, with, next time, why not some country music and indus-metal ?