III

I'm not usually a 'judge an album by it's cover' kinda guy, but this album cover got me interested in hearing what the music sounded like. Ain't that a great album cover or what? Having said all that, I don't think the music actually fits the cover too well. The music itself is still good and in it's own way just as interesting as the album cover. Senogul are a band from Spain and they do incorporate some Spanish influences in their music but also much more. This is the only release I have heard from these guys so I don't know how to compare it to their earlier stuff.

III is basically a mix of of older (pre-80s) influences and modern prog. The music is rich in diversity and generally changes quite a bit. This is a mostly instrumental album although there are some vocals, usually wordless and sometimes in harmony. A different variety of instruments are used but guitars/drums/keyboards are the main set-up along with some wind instruments and percussive instrumentation. Although eclectic (hehe) in nature, the music tends to be jazzy, rockin' and ethnic sounding mostly. Sometimes classical sounding but not necessarily symphonic. As I stated earlier, the music does have some Spanish influences but also maybe not so surprisingly there are some Latin American elements as well.

"Parana" stands out for several reasons. It is by far the most accessible song on here but is also one of the most memorable and enjoyable as well. This is the only song actually sung in Spanish, with some catchy singing. When I first heard this song one thing immediately jumped out at me: they use a chord progression on piano which sounds almost exactly like the main chord progression on the hit 1980s song "Something About You" by the band Level 42. It could be a coincidence but I don't believe in coincidences. I'm not alleging that anyone in Senogul deliberately ripped off the Level 42 song, but if these guys were much more well-known than they are they could have had their asses sued off.

"The Black Cat" starts off almost in chamber rock territory before it switches to a mix of fusion and ELP style symph prog. Great synth sounds in this track. The music is on fire until it starts to wander a bit in the middle. You can listen to the track "Tales From Buanga" here on PA. This features some great harmony singing. This isn't a bad song but it never really goes anywhere and is nowhere near being one of the best songs on the album. "Gameland" has metal and folk elements mixed with jazzy playing. Then it goes atmospheric techno on us. This track should have been longer.

Speaking of song-lengths, at 13 1/2 minutes "Sopa Colora" is the album closer. This track changes a lot with many different instruments being used. A really cool sounding altered bass sound can be heard. Features a lengthy classical style piano solo. This epic of sorts tends to drag on a bit and shows that they are better at doing shorter songs. Some of the shorter songs could have been longer, on the other hand. 'Eclectic prog' is a great description for this group. This has great playing and sound and the compositions are at least above average. Overall not perfect but a very good album, I'll give it 3.5 and round that up to 4 stars.

PS. Just to clarify, the song "Parana" is a cover of which the original is older than the Level 42 song I mentioned. It is also sung in Portuguese. Thanks to the member of the group who notified me of this.