1+1=OK

Jeavestone is an exceptionally good band, with an original sound and an attitude that differs a lot from the mainstream prog of the day. However, their third album 1+1=OK is a hard nut to crack. One would have expected them to go deeper into the somewhat crazy and multi-stylistic world of the preceding album, Spices, Species and Poetry Petrol (2008), because its overall atmosphere raised so many eyebrows and made the band so different from their contemporaries.

On the contrary, Jeavestone has turned the clock backwards and made a more straight-forward, almost a heavy prog rock record. It is much closer to the band's first album, Mind the Soup (2005) than SSAPP, although with much stronger compositions than on their debut. Gone are the strings, the woodwinds (bar the guesting sopran sax on the final track), the orchestral percussion as well as the obvious humour that gave SSAPP so special angle. We even hear much less Angelina Galactique's flute than before, which is a pity, because it's become an integral part of the band's sound. 1+1=OK is definitely Jeavestone's darkest album so far.

What rescues this record, is the quality of the compositions. The band has again put a myriad of classic influences into a box, shaken it carefully to avoid to sound like a copy of anybody, and yet there are a few familiar elements. For example, the opening track Laser Fluxus Bombus Interruptus starts like an 80's hard rock track, but soon evolves into fusion that turns the band into "The Jeavishnu Orchestra", and eventually fades into a mellow exit. The Tip Reader is the heaviest track on the album; here Jim Goldworth (probably the best prog rock singer around at the moment) sounds like a sophisticated version of Bruce Dickinson. Furute Shock is one of the high points of the album with a very catchy chorus. Quite astonishingly, both tracks of the 2009 single Hot Summer Fun are included. This hints at some lack of material, although both songs are good. With the use of melodica, Hot Summer Fun is the closest the band comes to the sound of SSAPP. Do It Right is maybe the simplest song of the record, whereas Factory's colour and subject are relatively dark, and Senseless goes ahead with a constantly changing key. The last song, Poet's Eternity is an expected finale to the album, with a colouring sopran sax solo, and with a short ghost track after it.

1+1=OK (I have no idea where the title comes from) grows on me with every spin, and I believe with time it really will challenge its fantastic predecessor. It is neither a step forward nor backward, but rather a side-step that broadens Jeavestone's image. I feel tempted to give it full five stars, but that would mean I'd consider it a better album than SSAPP, which it is not - not yet. Time will tell.

This is one of the strongest prog'n'roll albums there is, and anybody with the access to Spotify can go and check it out themselves right now. If you can, do it - you won't be disappointed.