INTERPOSE+

4.5 stars. It's funny but i've read of 3 or 4 people who said they had this cd but kept by-passing it for something else. I did the exact same thing for months. I think we all agree that to delay listening to this gem was a foolish mistake. It was Eric's passionante review that moved me to buy this in the first place, and then to see Prog-Jester's review afterwards only confirmed that this must be something special. It is. This is beautiful symphonic music with a Jazz flavour, and I can drink this concoction all day long.The female (Sayuri) vocals are simply gorgeous. I didn't even realize she was singing in Japanese at first, I was so enthralled with her voice.This band has been playing together on and off for 20 years, and this is their first record. There are a couple of guests from fellow Japanese band KBB helping out.

The album starts off with my favourite track "Aircon". It begins slowly with drums, synths and then some Latimer-like guitar. This is heaven man. The guitarist is a gun slinger who is a professional in every sense of the word. He's not a show off, but amazes with his tasteful and melodic play. The pace picks up before 2 minutes as some excellent guitar melodies and drums lead the way. Vocals after 5 minutes with violin right behind. I can't say enough about this song. "Dayflower" reminds me of ANEKDOTEN right away with the mellotron waves. Vocals arrive before 2 minutes. The drums are the most prominant instrument until the wondrous guitar solo 4 1/2 minutes in that goes on and on for about a minute. Nice. Some heaviness 7 1/2 minutes in. I'm so impressed with this band ! What follows is like a swirling mass of beautiful sounds ending with acoustic guitar.

"Zitensya" is a jazzy tune that features some aggressive guitar as the drums pound away. Just a great full sound. The song changes 5 1/2 minutes in as the piano takes the spotlight, that is until the guitar takes it back again 7 minutes in. "Koibumi" is pastoral to begin with as flute-like sounds, light drums and keys create that mood. The bass stands out 2 minutes in, with the tempo picking up speed soon after with the guitar leading the way. Vocals before 4 minutes as piano accompanies her. The song does build back up with Sayuri still singing. The tempo continues to shift. Check out the tasteful guitar solo. Great song. "Last Sign" begins with a 2 minute mellow passage before the pace picks up with some fantastic synth and drum work. The guitar after 3 minutes comes and goes. It reminds me of how it sounded at times on "Aircon".The drumming and guitar melodies shine brightly 6 1/2 minutes in. The organ to follow is quite powerful.

It's difficult not to give this a full 5 stars, please check out this amazing debut.