CONUNDRUM

VERBAL DELIRIUM founded in 1999 to give another image of progressive rock, a band outside of the MARILLION loving prog musical shackles on which they fall and which makes them think differently about music with a prog and psychedelic sound of the 60s and 70s, with touches heavy and jazzy. Experimentation leads them to merge PINK FLOYD, CARDIACS, QUEEN of course, MUSE. A 4th album of prog dark heavy jazzy theatrical pop unclassifiable finally with a current and modern sound of which I will tell you the pieces.

"Falling" Dantesque atmospheric intro with polyphonic voices and choirs reminds me of XTC madness; a brutal riff, out of tune and menacing sounds like a setting before the start of the show; grandiose art-rock, one of the most beautiful intro of the year with that of MILLENIUM lately which brings "In Pieces" melody reminiscent of QUEEN and THE BEATLES; Jargon plays his voice accompanied by an operatic chorus making the title bombastic; dark prog break so on mysterious keyboards amplifying the theatrical symphonic side of the opera, the finale on the EPICAs. "Intruders" changes tone with a fresh, upbeat nursery rhyme, the BEACH BOYS muted; the chorus with QUEEN-like vocals; sampled break of violins, choirs for a musical verbal delirium reminding me of SPARKS, XTC, the soundtrack of 'Phantom Of The Paradise'; creative and enjoyable with the heavier instrumental in return for the grandiloquent storm and the musical madness. "Children of Water" follows on a bewitched keyboard, a Joe PAYNE voice, strong, dark, powerful, moving. QUEEN can rest easy, I'm happy that VERBAL DELIRIUM finally uses this creative niche; mysterious atmosphere between spleen and latency and a quivering, superb Jargon. "Conundrum" where Balkan rock revisited? That of BREGOVIC? Sax and clarinet jam on an upbeat tempo; instrumental where the organ comes to mingle bringing a convoluted gypsy folk-jazzy air, strange but the frenetic holds the stake; the final crescendo rise seems to come out of a 320 volt outlet, amazing.

"The Watcher" arises a strange, grating, borderline jarring title; then soft ballad of a blow rounding the ears; the melodic line surprises in the opposite direction and the keyboard ends up melting; the first third and the madness of the creative SPARKS reaches me, the guitar becomes heavy, the thunderous break in electric crescendo; final with ethereal choirs and Jargon which rocks us with its inimitable voice with an explosive festive air. "Neon Eye Cage" jazzy-soft for folk-ballad title à la QUEEN, soul music too; the more subdued voice reminds me of SAGA, the second period, the stereo keyboard break positively attacks the ears; it rises calmly, melodically until the instrumental drift where guitar and keyboards return the notes with force and gravity, George bringing me back for a moment to the master MALMSTEEN; stunning, outro jazzy. "Fall from Grace" completes the album with a delicate melody; the ballad that takes us from QUEEN to SAGA with a muffled, fruity, languorous sound where the guitar quickly comes to accompany Jargon; the declination launches the solo that kills, tears, grinds and leaves you speechless, one of those that makes you say that prog, musical art-rock still has something extra, and that you're happy that few can listen to this masterpiece, a prodigious paradox in fact.

VERBAL DELIRIUM has released a musically rich, varied, creative, well-anchored art-rock album; quality compositions with Jargon in mind, developing a whimsical and fantastic alternative modern rock-pop; lyrical and melodic, grandiloquent and ethereal, sublime and... sublime! An extraordinary approach where the lyricism of Jargon illuminates the darkness, where the chiselled and brilliant notes refer to dark airs alternating beauty and emotion. A fusion led by a master voice with a psychedelia of the years 2023. Grandissime.