ARCHES

In order to talk about THE ARCHESTRA and their album "Arches" I need to first talk about their parent band RATIONAL DIET. They were a seven piece band out of Belarus and their "At Work" album from 2008 simply blew me away. I was not expecting such a powerful record where the strings cause mayhem. A five star recording in my opinion. Olga Podgaiskaya had just joined the band for that album and I can't say enough about this classically trained keyboardist who has an amazing voice. She brought a lot to the table on "At Work".

Their next album "Phenomena And Existences" saw Olga take a greater role in composing, and she is more into chamber music, and it caused a rift in the band. And so artistic differences caused the band to split with Olga forming THE FIVE STORY ENSEMBLE a chamber band like ARANIS, while Kiryll Krystsia the violinist formed THE ARCHESTRA. There is some crossover with some members on both albums. Kiryll brought in Nadia to sing as well as add violin and cello, and while she is not as talented a vocalist as Olga in my opinion, she is very good. "Arches" combines that chamber style along with plenty of powerful electric sounds. Kind of like RATIONAL DIET's final record "Phenomena And Existences" but a little better. Both are solid 4 star albums in my world.

My top five includes "Window" where the vocals and strings really impress. Bassoon by the way is all over this album giving it a dark vibe overall. Another standout track is "Train" which is so intense early on. The bass shakes the soundscape. There is this calm that is full of suspense 2 minutes in. More contrasts then a jazzy section around 5 minutes in. The three songs in a row that include the two "Triptych" songs and "Toscin" round out my top five. So a strong finish and that short closer is also excellent with those pleasant piano melodies mixed with creepy sounds. I really like when Nadia sings in that lower register a couple of times on "Toscin".

A solid 4 stars but that "At Work" album is the one to get in my opinion when talking about the music of these three bands.