DARK SHOT

Very polished, melodic, and sophisticated Zeuhl-based jazz fusion from France. Three of these band members are alumni of Christian Vander's MAGMA lineup from his 2000s studio and touring band, while drummer and ONE SHOT founding member Daniel Jeand'heur being a long time fan of Magma and the jazz greats of the 1960s.

1. "Black P" (9:09) plodding along with great skill, there just isn't very much for me to be drawn in by. For me, Philippe Bussonnet is the star of this one. (17.33/20)

2. "Opus 12" (7:52) a little more driven and uptempo. James Mac Gaw's guitar play is almost ALLAN HOLDSWORTH-like while Emmanuel Borghi's keyboard range is delightfully more similar to those of George Duke's or Allan Zavod's contributions to JEAN-LUC PONTY's wonderful string of albums in the late 1970s. A very solid song with some nice hooks and, of course, great performances. (13.25/15)

3. "Def MK1" (9:48) back to a more brooding jazz-rock, perhaps even closer to the Avant Garde world of GUAPO or UNIVERS ZERO, though this is still very much what we'd all call Zeuhl. Keyboards and drums are more in the limelight on this one. (17.5/20)

4. "Blade" (4:54) opening just like an old JEAN-LUC PONTY song, this one continues to move along very slowly, very delicately, as if moving cautiously through a dingy dark alley well after midnight. Cool but never really goes anywhere--never achieves resolution. (8.667/10)

5. "Automate" (7:29) more plodding suspenseful music in which the drums, bass, and keys play their parts very conservatively over the course of the opening two minutes. Drums are the first instrument to "come to life" in the third minute as the others go through some zombi-like chord progressions before returning to the opening motif. At 3:35 the soundscape shifts (though the rhythm and pacing remains constant) as keys move to the front to solo in a very JAN HAMMER-like aggressive way. The drummer is so solid, so in-sync with the pace! At 5:35 we return to whole-band solidarity (the keyboard solo ends) before we go through the "chorus" of chord progressions. Guitar takes a turn in the lead for final minute but really does nothing very dynamic. Solid. (13/15)

6. "Downwards" (9:10) dirty electric guitar arpeggi in the opening minute give this a very rock feel to it. The break and bridge at the one-minute mark is also very rock-like, but then the band picks up a new chord progression and new rhythm foundation to carry forward. Keys offer a little floweriness before the band shifts gear into a more laid-back Zeuhl motif with strong bass play and, eventually, electric guitar soloing. Despite some fine drumming on display, the repetition of the same descending chord-and note progression gets a little old; by the sixth minute I've about had enough; there's just not enough exciting music going on over the top/in the front. A little keys action, some fine bass play in the seventh and eighth minutes and, finally, some dynamic (JAN AKKERMAN "Answers? Questions!"-like) guitar work eighth and ninth minutes but it's just not enough. (17/20)

7. "Nosh Partitas" (5:56) coolness (in the engineering of the drums) and melody! Jazz-like in a JEAN-LUC PONTY way. Great keyboard chord support, great bass play (especially the funk stink in the middle), and nice drumming and guitar play. The band all seem to be working very hard to time the syncopated melody lines together as a team. And then James Mac Gaw does some truly avant (DAVID TORN-like) guitar work. Another nice JAN HAMMER-like synth solo in the fourth minute. My favorite song on the album. (9/10)

Total Time 54:18

The skill and competency levels of the four musicians is unparalleled, but the music, to my mind, misses the additional presence of human voices and maybe something else--like melodic (or non-melodic) "hooks".

B/four stars; a nice addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you like high quality instrumental jazz or Zeuhl.