PICARESQUE

I am not sure if THE DECMBEREISTS really should be labeled Prog. If yes, Progarchive could easily double its list of groups. But who cares?... ....Now, in fact, I do! Because if it had not been for their addition to this site, I likely would have never heard of this great band!

Almost all songs on PICARESQUE are exquisite. The mix of folk and country influences played with alternative rock sensibilities plus the very lyrical texts result in highly original and most beautiful songs. Without question, the highlight is the 8+ minute THE MARINER'S REVENGE SONG. The hypnotic stomp and the great storyline just kept me playing exclusively just this one song for days (just find out for yourself by listening to the free sample on this site)! Among the remaining 10 songs I especially like THE INFANTA, an up-tempo song reminiscent to NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, and ELI, THE BARROW BOY, a slow country song that borders close to kitsch, but never is. In my opinion, the only two weaker songs (though still far from bad) are THE ENGINE DRIVER and ON THE BUS MALL, which are quite repetitive (especially the latter).

PIQUAREQUE is definitely a masterpiece. If you like VIOLENT FEMMES and are looking for a worthy successor of NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, try this one! Only the fact that I am not convinced about the Prog-staus of this band let me initially hesitate to give the full five star rating.... but than again: who cares??