PART THE SECOND

I am flabbergasted by the intricacies and elegance of this album, particularly since it was made available for free. Shimmering clean guitar and bittersweet violin play a major role on this album, both of which touch the listener on a visceral level. The diverse vocals were off-putting initially, but I cannot deny that they are at once unique and an integral part of what makes this a fantastic piece of work. I believe I am incapable of expressing in writing everything that enthralls me with it, as I feel nearly any masterpiece just requires a kindred spirit as it were, to listen to it, and be in total agreement with how astonishing it is- no words will do it justice, and there's no convincing the naysayers.

"An Excerpt From 6,000,000,000,000 Miles Before the First, or, The Revisitation of the Blue Ghost" The first song surprised me in a way I was not prepared for: What I heard was pure symphonic bliss, with gorgeous clean guitar, strings, and an upbeat rhythm. Suddenly, the music becomes very slow, with a single organ chord droning in the background, subdued drums, blasts of velvety guitar, and dreary lead vocals. A heavier, more tightly orchestrated interlude ensues, with exquisite instrumentation and great bass. Soon that gives way to another sedated stretch of beautiful music.

"Another Excerpt: Keep Light Near You, Even When Dying" A gorgeous piece, this features various strings and a baritone saxophone. The music builds to invite a screaming but not overdone electric guitar solo. A new face of the song occurs abruptly with more intense rhythms, falsetto vocals laden with effects, and then eerily lovely bass guitar and handclaps. The diversity of this relatively short piece just has to be heard to be believed.

"Rose Quartz Turning to Glass" Yet again was I whisked away in amazement at the sheer elegance this group was capable of. Sweet violin dances gracefully over poised piano and unbridled toms. There are some bizarre vocals that normally would make me reach out to move on to the next track, but something about these is hypnotic and sound perfectly natural in the context of the music. Without warning, a late 1970s-sounding Pink Floyd rock bit ensues.

"Clover Garland Island" Once again, there is another surprise here. Initially, the music is the heaviest that is has been thus far on this album, full of growling chords and cymbal crashes (perhaps in the vein of 1990s King Crimson), but then the music seamlessly turns into what sounds a lot like 1990s Santana. And then, the music sounds a fair bit like 1970s Camel, with those vocals masked behind muffled effects and the sparser instrumentation. Following yet another stunning string passage, the song takes on a fresh rock feel, with great, semi-clean guitars.

"Laboratories of the Invisible World (Rollerskating the Cosmic Palmistric Postborder)" The longest and final track starts off subdued enough, but this one is easily the heaviest number. Along with some crunchy guitar passages and some high-pitched vocals, there's thundering drums and dark bass. After the heaviest music of the album, a gentle, almost jazzy piano conclusion gently guides the listener to the end of a striking and somehow brief voyage.