MARTIAN CHRONICLES III: I OR A.I.

Solaris, the sixth album, is a triptych that delves into the 70s, seeking the atmosphere and sound, and bringing it back, toned down, boosted, and descaled, to 2024, to better confront the science fiction of tomorrow.

"ZOO Galactica" and its symphonic-cosmo-romantic intro; a solemn, classical beauty with a majestic flute- keyboard duo. "Shadows Of The Creators" follows, with the sound of muffled pads, fat synth with a guitar arpeggio, heavy beats, and a flute blast à la Ian; a cinematic, contemplative space leading to bliss. "Guardians" continues with Róbert's sharp riff and fiery keyboards. The melting pot of old and new revisited through the story of our robots taking power. "I or A.I.", a Serra-esque pad, an 80s pop melody reminiscent of Tears For Fears, all the delicacy of the atmospheric, medieval nursery rhyme à la Candice Night; a classical beauty blown out all at once with the Purple keyboard, the much more edgy Overhead-esque flute, and Csaba's haunting guitar. "Inflection Point," with the piano, stands as a bulwark against electronics in this AI world. The rhythm navigates between the carnal, colorful, and rich air of a jazzy variation for a musical duel that passes like a spatial letter on this perfect first instrumental outburst.

"Ballad Of Deluge Suite" and the Olympian "Prologue" with trumpet, neo-classical with timpani and melting choirs; a consensual bucolic space ballad. A second Balkan choir creates confusion, sung with guitar commanding respect at the finale. "Island Of Survivors" takes us into a hot jungle with an old-fashioned slide and a dizzying keyboard-flute riff. Invigorating choirs, the flute scratching the ear, vintage noise boosted with this southern cacophony, cowboys against aliens. The church organ captivates before the thunderous guitar solo flirting with Oldfield, smelling of the old madness of Focus with the reverberating synth; we are ready for the duel. "The ARK" approaches jazz rock with the twirling piano and the captivating choirs. The guitar-flute battle is energetic, a modern rock with reminiscences. "Ballad Of Deluge" Dire Straits chords, Deep Purple-style timbale, King Crimson. Asian atmosphere, Hungarian vocals and tear-jerking guitar, the cello melting. This ballad moves into a dreamlike, overwhelming and grandiloquent Rondò Veneziano.

"Dream Valley Suite" with "Welcome To The Collapse" is an acoustic preamble and a couch potato duet, almost cloying, with the voices of the Corrs. "Nightmares" is a fitting nightmarish intro. The redundant, low keyboard, the Japanese air in return, setting off a Jethro Tull-Overhead musical melting pot. The drum stutters like a galloping horse, the church organ injecting emotion, and the agonizing bass for the instrumental, which sets the stage ablaze with Csaba's bewitching guitar firing like a sinister western. A cinematic soundtrack in a frenzied coda. "Future Memories" bursts forth, keyboards, synths, mezzo-soprano voice soaring with the electronics. The guitar arpeggio melts with scattered notes; a warm, hypnotic musical cinema. "Golden Raven" for the interlude with basic spatial sound effects, the vibrating synth, the heavy guitar in the distance, Bregovic's regressive Balkan flute; captivating. "Dream Valley" is more digital, electronic to the point of suddenly hearing Space, Daft Punk. A very serious fretless bass break, energetic percussions bring the atmosphere of traditional balls from the time when music was still beautiful. The electronic and gypsy air, a melting marshmallow romance. The incomprehensible chanted vocals with the metronomic violin continue the hypnotic effect. "Paradox" and the presence of Attila, a flautist disrupting musical codes, sprinkling here and there his elven notes; the series of belched sounds taken as instruments, the Hispanic melody prolonging the cinematic effect before the finale with the wah-wah guitars like in the good old days, idyllic. The musical madness is palpable, with the final vocoder vocals reminiscent of Tangerine Dream. "Monument" has a Vangelisian sound, a solemn aria for the Olympian march with celestial choirs. "The Last Poem" is the outro, a final clap, a Hungarian poem bathed in an ethereal stereo keyboard sound, while the flute seeks out those lost on this long, astonishing journey.

Solaris offers a personal soundtrack to an imaginary film that will replay in your mind.(4.75)

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to alainPP
• Report this review (#3177168)
• Buy SOLARIS music online with PA partners
• Show all SOLARIS MP3/Stream
• Go to SOLARIS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Martian Chronicles III: I Or A.I. page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for SOLARIS related discussions