THE LAST TWENTY YEARS

Reserve de Marche are not a French band, although that is implied by the name (which translates to 'Power Reserve') but are in fact an instrumental trio from Moscow. The band was formed by Alexander Alekseev (guitar) along with Dmitry Pomogaev (drums) and Andrey Bagdasarov (bass), and only two years after their formation their debut CD is out and I can see from their site that they are gigging a fair bit as well. There is very little information around on this band, but luckily their site is in English and there they state that their music is "Classic rock elements, heavy riffs, sound experiments and sensuous melodies merge in music that feels like thrill and adventure. RdM combines a mix of multiple styles, including progressive, post-rock, shoegaze and atmospheric sludge to celebrate the unique moment or here and now." So now you know.

What I found with this album is that there is a real presence, a forceful nature to the music, with an intensity and dynamic that is unusual in a band that is so young. I certainly didn't miss the vocals, yet this is an album that is much more about songs instead of long passages with no meaning. The music ebbs, it flows, with very much a hard rock feel yet there is also a space within the music as the individual lines and melodies make themselves heard. The production is very strong as well, with the end result that this is an album that definitely needs to be heard by a much wider audience.