TICK TOCK

With Tick Tock we can hear a Norwegian based band progressing very nicely indeed; in actual fact when i first heard "Night" I thought I had come across the perfect music and immediately wanted to see the band perform live on stage. The band claim their music is not progressive rock, more a combination of "Classical Post, Ambient Nocturnal, Atmospheric Folk, World Rock......or simply DIFFERENT MUSIC" Who am i to argue with such a description (taken from their very recent tour flier promoting this latest masterpiece). Indeed, now that i have seen the band play to relatively tiny audiences 3 times now, I am delighted to report that the quality of their performances and individual prowess is on the up and the confidence is clear to see and hear.

I don't normally wish to make artist comparisons but clearly there is a Marillion (Hogarth) tone especially in the wonderful voice of Jan Henrik Ohme. Indeed the band did support Marillion a couple of years back and Steve Hogarth was present at the April 2009 London tour finale gig to further support Tick Tock.

Now to the album itself: The band have painstakenly composed 45 minutes of music which carefully showboats their craft of detailed, yet simply structured music. The musicianship is not only of a high quality but also complimentary to each other. The drumming is apparently simple but powerful, as is the wonderful keyboards from Thomas Anderson. Violins and Mandolin are a differential worth hearing and really add a special dimension to the compositions. But i have to say that the vocals are the most impressive factor; Jan's voice is very detailed, varied and melodic. He is becoming more and more impressive live in each and every performance I have seen and this is evident on Tick Tock. The album kicks off with the rockier than normal "Desert Flight" and supported by two epic tracks "The Walk" and "Tick Tock". The musicianship transcends wonderfully through the structured passages. Finally a beautiful song (Winter Is never) shows the more accessible side of the band's music. Pure and sweet, Tick Tock has progressed Gazpacho to a standard of progressive music that clearly demonstrates quality. It has more depth and content than "Night" - a lot more going on! A great bunch of guys dedicated to progressive music, forget the Radiohead, Muse etc references, this is the real deal and the future of Gazpacho looks secured; i hope the album sales give the credit the band clearly deserve........an easy 5* rating.