PALACE OF MIRRORS

Estradasphere

RIO/Avant-Prog

4.12 | 111 ratings

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Drakk

"The Transformation will begin!..."

Estradasphere came as quite a shock to me, when I had first discovered them. Unfamiliar with most of the bands, styles and underlying quirkiness of the genre, this album sorely confused me upon my first listen. What was it? Metal? Jazz? Folk? I could barely begin to grasp any certain genre before it would send me cascading into another genre entirely. However, after some time, I fell in love with this band. The huge variety of opposing and odd genres meshing together nearly seamlessly just through me into fits of giggles and awe.

Their latest output, Palace of Mirrors is quite the sonic palette of genres and sounds, ranging from Death Metal, to Jazz, to undefinable Electronic chaos, to Japanese folk music and so on. It's sudden and wonderful changes from song to song, and even within a single song keep you on a rollercoaster of emotions and musical experiences. The musicianship is top notch, and nothing short of spectacular for this album. The grandouise nature of the album, and the whimsical feel to it is really something else. Each track is unique, and engaging to listen t;. Light hearted and fun this album really easy to listen to more than once. Chaos and incoherence never sounded so wonderful together, and fit the mood of this album perfectly.

While no lyrics are present in the album, something I grew accustomed to and pleased with in Buck Fever, the feeling and 'soul' of the album are very much present. The images feelings invoked are no less prevelant with this album than any other. Though they are missed by myself, I find myself liking this album as much as any other in Estradasphere's repetoire.

My only vice with this album, and in reality, it being just a matter of personal preferance, is the inherant lack of Saxaphone on this ablum. The wonderful style of Whooley (or Whoohoolicious) is sadly absent from muh of this album. His work in Buck Fever and It's Understood were truly wonderful, and added much to the band. Also, Dave Murray's unique style and creativity will sore be missed.

Drakk | 5/5 | 2007-8-6

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