VACUUM

This is a really dynamic album by a band I really want to get to know better. The band is clearly influenced by classic Genesis, and the incredible resemblance Simone Rossetti has to Peter Gabriel really pushes the music forward. These are very musically dense songs, with lots of changes and intricacies keeping the music from dragging on.

My problem with this album is not even that much of a problem. The Watch wants to make music in the vein of Genesis, and they do it spectacularly. They nail the "epic cataclysmic power rock" parts with ease, with songs evoking pieces like the end of The Musical Box, The Knife, Fountain of Salmacis, and bits of Epping Forest. I'd really like to see this band capture the piano ballads, the folky guitar passages like The Cinema Show and Harlequin, and really, I'd like to hear MORE SOLOS. The instruments blend together beautifully and create an unbelievably solid musical experience, which has led me to play this album at least 8 or 9 times start to finish this week alone. But the instruments don't make their presences known enough. Rather than having a lead instrument play a lead melody, all the instruments focus on backing and letting the spectacular vocals carry the songs.

Basically I'd like to see this band have longer instrumental passages, or at least passages with more instrumental virtuosity in them. Something like In the Cage or a piano showcase like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

I really want to give this album 5 stars. I think if they do what I said for their next album and pull it off well, it would deserve five stars. But here, I give this album as close to 5 stars as possible, because it's just that good. This is truly an excellent addition to anyone's music collection, regardless of what music you like. If you like to listen to music, you like being challenged and confused and ultimately rewarded, this is the band for you. Well, so is Genesis. :-)