SUDDEN DUSK

HOWEVER was an East Coast band that combined some Canterbury sounds with RIO, similar to bands like early Gong, Henry Cow, Egg, some National Health and even a bit of Soft Machine. They are also compared frequently to Frank Zappa (especially the dissonant vocals) and another East Coast band, Happy The Man. Personally, I feel that HTM is the closest comparison - there is certainly a wide array of these various influences driving this music, from the compositional style to the instruments used (more woodwinds than most rock).

"Sudden Dusk" is very experimental and diverse, and will reward the earnest listener with some very interesting and original songs; it ain't exactly an easy listen, though. There are some "weird" moments sprinkled here and there, along with some near-ambient passages. But the primary core of this music is that HTM sound - kind of keyboard/jazz-rock, if you will. Of the 49 minutes of music on this cd, half of the songs contain vocals. It looks like there are four band members proper, although they list 5 additional musicians, and others who add various odds and ends. The booklet contains 4 black & white pictures of the band, as well as all the lyrics.

I'm a fan of all the U.S. prog bands, so I can easily recommend this band. (Their second cd "Calling" was even more diverse, and nearly as good as this one.) If you've read this far, you already know in your heart that this is a cd you'll want to get. Don't look for the show-stopping negative comments here - I hereby dub this cd "worthy". Let's call it 3.5 stars.