EPONYMUS II

Spaced Out turned here more progressive than their debut, although they still have a strong jazzy style. All the musicians are VIRTUOSOS! They changed the guitarist, and now the omnipresent solos have a permanent wah-wah effect; however, it less sounds like Allan Holdsworth here; I would say the guitar solos sound more like Terje Rypdal. The darkness and bizarreness already present on the first record reach their peak here! Unbelievable! I've rarely seen such an uncanny record: scary! I think they sometimes exaggerate. Antoine Fafard constantly uses a popping bass technique, producing some really "out of this world" bass patterns! This guy is among the best bassists in the WORLD!! The wah-wah guitar solos could become irritating with time. Here again, the main strength of this record is the extreme structure kept despite apparent improvisation: the cohesion of the ensemble and the perfect synchronization of all the instruments might be noticed by the average listener after certainly more than one listen. This music is extremely hard to digest, believe me! Just take the time to absorb it! Of course their weird extravaganzas will discourage more than one, and if this occurs, then try their first album, which is a bit more..."conventional". An excellent album considering the perfectly mastered technique!

Rating: 4.5 stars