WHEN EARTH LETS GO

Even if it is a bit commercial album, music shifts are very precise, and voice is overwhelming. I really enjoyed this album and its live performance. Melodies are fantastic, move you to sing outloud shameless while driving, that´s the definitive test for me. Perhaps the only lack, in my opinion is the guitars sound, it could be more supporting sometimes.

Gazpacho's second album marks a further adventure for the band and an improvement in one of the two areas that the first album was lacking: They now have a full time drummer in the group and this adds greatly to the sound. Where as Bravo was an odd mix of Muse, Depeche Mode and classical, When Earth Lets Go is a much more rounded album with the band finding their own distinctive sound.

The intro is a typical device on most prog albums so we will move straight on to Snowman. It starts quietly and gradually builds into an epic sound. The vocals are the usual selling point on a Gazpacho album - full of emotion with a great soaring range. Discordant synths break the song into the epic portion before the vocals take the lead again.

Put it on the Air starts as a nice rocker with Ohme singing in a slightly lower range than usual. This song also showcases how good a real drummer can make a song compared to a drum machine! The only thing missing is a guitar solo! Once again the intelligent lyrics lead the song as it builds to the finale. Electronic sounds and vocals effects come into play and show the bands prog influences before the rock out song ending.

Souvenir starts with slow drums and quickly moves into a melancholic vocal and synth driven song.The guitar touches join the song as Jan Ohme's sensitive vocals again drive the song. It deceptively builds before all instruments except an organ stop and the vocal finishes the song.

Steal Yourself is a more up tempo song which starts quickly and then changes into a guitar driven rocker, before moving back into a drum and synth lead verse. The chorus shows how good the band are at guitar rock and the song shows how the band can meld two styles together into a cohesive whole. Saying all this, Steal Yourself is lyrically the weakest song on the album. Not bad by any means, but not up to the standard of the rest. However, it is probably a real stonker live! (That's a good thing, honest!!)

117 is another Gazpacho mood piece. starting slowly with moody electronic sounds and synths, the delicate vocals lead the song and are joined by gentle guitar and bass touches to add to the mood. Female backing vocals add to the experience before the guitar comes to the fore. This is another point in a Gazpacho song where you hope a corking guitar solo will emerge but again Gazpacho confound us by more fragile vocals leading the song again. Suddenly the song changes track and Ohme's vocals burst forth with passion. A gentle part of the song comes forth followed by a change in time signature before a return to an epic portion of the song as the lament from Jan Ohme continues to drive the song. 117 is the most Prog like song on the album and with a running time of 6.22 it is the longest. I would rate this song 5 stars on it's own and it is the centre piece of this album.

Beach House starts out completely different and changes the tone of the album at this point. Harsh sounds accompany the drum before the vocal kicks in. The song turns out to be another guitar driven rocker but it somehow seems more involving than Steal Yourself did. I can only put this down to better song writing and a guitar solo! Yes, there IS a guitar solo in there, although is is short and not very intricate. That said, it suits the song perfectly.

Substitute For Murder starts with the sound of gentle waves on the beach overlaid by a sharp building whine. This then turns into what Gazpacho do best. Quietly building piano and vocal lead moody musical epic. It even glimmers with a cheerful musical interlude before becoming quite menacing and then back to the delicate vocals and piano. Ohme's vocals are truely outstanding on this track and I am sure a lesser vocalist would mean a lesser song. His passionate singing is the cornerstone to this song, whether it is the quiet sections or the louder, menacing sections. And just when you think it can't get any better, the guitar lets rip with another very short but welcome solo. Then we are treated to a violin solo. You can't argue that Gazpacho are not brave enough to experiment to get the sound they want! And everything seems to be there to build the soundscape. At times you could be listening to Hogarth era Marillion and it's only when there is a lack of a Rothery guitar solo that you realise it's a different band altogether!

Dinglers Horse is another change of tempo as this delicate song starts, again vocal lead. The drums also play a major part to this song, giving it a great pounding rythum which somehow never overshadows the vocals. Then the song changes into a guitar backed moody end section.

When Earth Lets Go begins with a crystal clear piano introduction and more of Ohme's delicate vocals. The violin joins in the background as this beautiful song tells of the beauty of the earth - or is it the beauty of a woman? You decide. Strings and piano lead the song to it's gentle conclusion before the album closes as it opened.

This is a stunning second album and comes very highly recommended.

Progressive rock? Well, OK, sure, though Gazpacho's release from 2004 sounds suspiciously like a pop record... a good and inventive one, but a pop record just the same. The material is well-produced and filled with delightful background imagery, texture and depth. But frankly this collection of ten songs is almost indistinguishable from any number of other talented but slick bands gearing for a spot in the indie top 40. Drawing on a chic modern swank, Gazpacho will surely thrill aging MTVers by presenting something a bit more. As if R.E.M., the Mermen and Chris Isaak got together for a one-off concept album.

I have to admit that I have some MAJOR difficulties with this album. The most evident one is to find ONE song of interest.

It is a long and dull journey into some boring electronic music: synthetic music all the way through. I could endorse their music during Bravo but this follow-up has really nothing to do with it.

This album is just a long and pitiful piece of music: a boring complaint all the way through. To imagine that this band is considered in the cross-over prog genre is just a mystery for me. Maybe one song could fall into the description: Beach House and that's it.

Is this because there are some fine keys featured? Or some Marillion Mark II uninspired vocals? I don't know. What's for sure is that this album is just a painful moment. You could except Dinglers Horses which holds a fine melody line and finally some good musical substance.

This album almost holds forty minutes of torture which aren't worth more than one star. This Gazpacho soup has no flavour. It is all tasteless and useless.

"When Earth Lets Go" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Norwegian rock act Gazpacho. The album is a self-released affair. The debut album "Bravo (2003)" attracted the attention of Marillion, who offered Gazpacho the support slot on their 31-date European "Marbles (2004)" tour which ran through 11 countries. Before going on tour with Marillion, Gazpacho opted to record and release "When Earth Lets Go", to have more material to chose from for their setlist.

The music on "When Earth Lets Go" more or less continue the semi-progressive rock style of it´s predecessor and as such it feels like a very natural successor to "Bravo (2003)". The warm, emotional and melancholic vocals by lead vocalist Jan H. Ohme are still the center of attention but the rest of the band also deliver a pleasant and warm backing. The music is predominantly mainstream vers/chorus structured and using the word "progressive" about the music might be stretching the definition of progressive rock a slight bit but tracks like "Snowman", "Put It On The Air" and "Substitute for Murder" do all possess innovative and slightly progressive elements. But it´s with emotional impact that "When Earth Lets Go" will hit the listener and not by adventurous ideas, and Gazpacho succeed well in laying the foundation for that impact. "When Earth Lets Go" is generally a very warm album featuring a melancholic atmosphere.

The musicianship are on a good level all around. The addition of a drummer since the debut (which featured programmed drums) provides the music with more punch even though this is rather mellow music for the most part. "When Earth Lets Go" features a warm and pleasant sound production to go along with the mellow atmosphere, so all elements suit each other.

Upon conclusion "When Earth Lets Go" isn´t much of a surprise if you are already familiar with the music on "Bravo (2003)" but it´s another decent effort by the band and there is enough development of the band´s sound to call it a step up from the debut. "When Earth Lets Go" is recommendable if you enjoy warm, melancholic and emotional rock with some (few) references to progressive rock. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.

Gazpacho continue the fine traditionthan Norweigan musiciabs have for stretching the boundries of genres; whwter ir be Jazz, post-rock or anything else.

the sophomore albumis asfine asthefirst...

This is an imaginative band, with a myriad of influences filtered and distilled tocreateaunique musicalf orm of their own. We have a warm, emotive vocalist together withtalenred muscians who are capable of weaving a unique sonic tapestry. No doubt, those of you whohavelistend willhereamyriadof influences and/or comparisons withotherbands pat and present..... I hear some similarities withother artists on the K-Scope 'Post-progresive' label ...and hear hints of many other conteporaryacts too - listen for yourself - many peoples eem to pickout unusua lcomparisons when listening to this unusual scandinavian act .... who manage to still maintain ordinary lives with full-time jobs alongside producing some wonderful music

The second release by Gazpacho continues a similar mood set by their debut Bravo. One could've expected something a little more "proggy" in my opinion, but not to be, not this time around at least.

Songs like Put It On The Air and Substitute For Murder makes for an interesting listen. Not as strong as Bravo, but very similar and still likeable. Jan Henrik's vocals is quite haunting at times, but it adds to the ambience of the overall sound that defines the band.

Other songs that need a mention perhaps, Steal Yourself & 117. Good follow-up to its predecessor, but like I mentioned earlier, not better. 3 Stars.