OCÉAN

TIEMKO are a trio out of France and this is album number two from 1990 called "Ocean". That album cover is so cool. I have the debut as well as this one and for me this is an upgrade as they have moved into more of a Jazz Fusion style but this is different. Not always good different but this has a unique sound to it. No electronic drums this time around. I'm not always into the stark and cold synth pulses or the upfront acoustic guitar even though it's so well played. Check out that acoustic guitar on "Bonbon Tres Sucre" where it reminds me of another band from France that would come later called SYRINX but that's all they used was acoustic guitar even if it was inventive like here at times. Here we get many styles of electric guitars and tones but they don't always appeal to me. The drummer adds vibes and bongos while the keyboardist adds bass plus we get a guitarist as I just mentioned. It's weird how I get put off yet I'm so drawn by how different it is. And man when it's warm and melodic it's a thing of beauty. The title track is epic at almost 22 minutes as we go for our salt water trip. The opener "Episode" is my favourite. A powerful sound and check out the bass at 1 1/2 minutes. Drum solo after 4 minutes that lasts a minute when huge bass lines return and more. So good. Truly a 3.5 star album for me but I'm bumping it up.