PIEONEAR

I noticed that SK is always compared to GY!BE and Mono, but I, actually not being into any of these two major bands of the post-rock genre, consider SK qualified and a band with their personal, individual sound for sure.

Pieonear fell into my hands only after I had already listened to the rest of the albums by SK and turned out to be their strongest effort. I have to mark that in 2004, when Pieonear was released, the band’s line-up was perfect. It included Yaroslav Kovalev, a cello player, who, it’s sad to say, tragically died not long after... Cello as nothing else on Earth went very well with SK’s sound and somehow supplemented it, added certain, specific colours to it.

Lemonsmellstreet kicks off the album with a grand piano intro and then a sudden psychedelic heavy riff in the vein of sludge brings down. At 3:30 the main theme begins with an elegant rhythm followed by a gentle cello and a short speech spoken by a woman. I like the cello melody at 8:40 and don’t like some vocals at 9:17, which, to my mind, though not spoiling the atmosphere of the song anyhow, are a bit unnecessary. But it’s just a trifle. The guys from SK are rather great instrumentalists than singers, and, what is more, their music doesn’t need any vocals at all. A sudden change and a number of complex parts from 10:33 till the end of the song do make the song a true masterpiece.

Psychoparasite is a 39-minute epic (!!!). Well, it’s very difficult to concentrate on and follow such a lengthy piece of music, that’s why it seems quite dragged out. Some parts of this epic are senseless and actually have no connexion with each other, so Psychoparasite in fact is not an epic, but just a melting pot, where there are a couple of excellent parts and as much again boring parts. Best minutes: 7:00-11:00, 15:00-17:00, 35:00-37:00. The long period between 19:00 and 33:00 is filled by an ambient improv, though being recorded live, not outstanding at all.

Lemon Smell Street, though having no evident connexion and nothing in common with the first song Lemonsmellstreet, is the best track on the album IMHO and closes the album remarkably. The song can be divided into 4 parts: the intro is heavy and doomy; the first theme (after a sudden stop of the intro – yes, again, SK’s hobby-horse) is very melancholic with cello filling the gaps in a heartfelt way; the second one is a bit heavier, but still melancholic; and the third theme is my favourite of all, for it’s fearful, the most melancholic, the darkest - a stunning cello-set even frightens a listener! I saw this part of the song played live by SK and was shaken by this... The outro of the song is very beautiful and once again melancholic – with flutes and acoustic guitars...

It’s very difficult to describe all these melodies and moods of SK’s music; you should just give it a listen yourself to understand what I mean. It could be a true masterpiece of post-rock if Psychoparasite were at least a bit shorter. Though, the first and the third song are worth giving 5+ stars for, some parts of Psychoparasite are senseless and not eminent. That’s why my rating is 4+, but still on PA it is 4.

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