WHEN YOU WERE LIVING HERE

Brilliant, Substantial, Sophisticated Song-Writing Extravaganza

Canadian Doug Harrison of progressive black metal outfit FEN, has presented via his project "Slug Comparison" what to these ears is a masterpiece of an album- heart-wrenching, taut, lyrically superior, filled with the ironies and contradictions of living life as a feeling, thinking person, in which music every note, every nuance, every guitar line, every word is necessary and required.

It's Been a Long Time

A long time, that is, since I've encountered the kind of essential, honest, genuine artistry on display here. We are not swept away by a blizzard of notes from a wizard of musicianship. Rather we are presented with a lovely, ever- unfolding richness of spiritual search, struggle, and depth.

Whether it's the reflections on the creative process that feeds and enflames the introverted, creative spirit, or the incredulous gasp of wrenching loss with the attendant desperate grasp to make sense of any one particle of that loss, there are subtleties and enormities of expression that make us delve into our own experiences that have touched or shaped us.

The Music

Not a note is wasted, nor a nuance spared. Thoughtfulness of arrangement, melody, rhythm, and timing are brought into perfect balance. There are the rocking moments in which one might stand and dance, and aching moments one must sit and let the tears flow.

For me, particularly the title track and "Thoughts" clearly demonstrate these traits- yet all tracks have hidden treasures. There is the spine-tingling falsetto in "Fine With It", the sparkling guitar lines in "One More Step", or the slightly fractured joy of "Let Some Light".

The Lyrics

Lyrics and music are welded into an unbreakable whole. I found myself captivated by this turn of phrase, or that reference wrapped in just enough poetic imagery to make it suggesting yet mysterious.

Without writing a treatise on the spiritual, emotional, psychological references and reverberations of Doug's lyrics, let it be enough to say here are lyrics, here is music that can be listened to and learned from and appreciated many times over.

In Short

Superb. My only quibble is the name, Slug Comparison. It seems the antithesis of what lies within.

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