THE BRAIN MINCER MACHINE

Serious Chops

Medium-Level Material

Spain's progressive rock quintet WHITE CHAMELEON returns for their fifth full-length release, "The Brain Mincer Machine", sporting a brand-new vocalist, Javier Benitez. WHITE CHAMELEON as a full-fledged band has been around since 2012, and just a personal preference- I appreciate actual multi-member bands that develop over time, play their own instruments, and have time to gel as creative units making great music.

Serious Chops

Here the rhythm section of drummer Israel Garrido and bassist Josep Romero must be mentioned as a highlight of this album. I love it when bassists have the freedom and chops to actually play the bass guitar and not just plunk down the roots of the chords. From the get-go, we hear the bass guitar laying down the opening sequence and then throughout the album playing spry, tasteful, energetic lines.

Drums too stand out- crisp, creative, energetic, tasteful fills and accompaniment, building a mood, increasing the tension, accenting wonderfully.

Guitar Chops

Founding member Juan Antonio Ponce shows a lot of class and moxie, using clean chiming tones, power-chords, soaring, diving, melodic, shredding leads throughout this album, always a delight to listen to and absorb, always adding quality to the tracks.

Vocal Chops

New vocalist Javier Benitez also brings some serious vocal chops, from wistful, or spoken, or rough, or tender tones, using the vocal ranges and textures to bring lyrics to life and depth. Then too, there are some delightful uses of harmonies, octaves, and in one of my favorite cuts, "Karkuk: White Hell", a standout a capella passage. Throughout the album there is a variety of tones and arrangements I found compelling. I'm not a fan of harsh or growled vocals, but these were not that- more of a husky, rough intensity at times. Not my favorite either, but others will surely find them compelling.

Keyboard Chops, Yet Sadly Restrained

Jordi Mela's keyboards are also fine and proficient...just to these ears, at least, too restrained. A few passages here and there, like in another of my favorite tracks "Stained Seraph", we get to hear some synth soloing, actual Hammond organ sounds, lush choral keyboards, and going beyond simply providing some sustained ambient chords or atmospheres. Personally, I'd like to hear more, and to have Mela perhaps add some depth and complexity to the compositions.

Compositions

Yes, I used the phrase "Medium-Level Material" above, and here I'm referring to what feels at times like a bit of settling-for regarding repeated chord structures, leaning fairly heavily on Pink Floyd sorts of sustained and repetitive passages, noticeable in among other places the first and title track, and the final, re-recorded track from the earlier "Asymmetric Man" album, "Remembering London".

At the same time, WHITE CHAMELEON really lets it shine when they kick it up a notch, like in "Jungle Spirit", and "Karkuk: White Hell". I like it when they get intense, like in "Wrong Envelope", with heavy guitars and a gripping intensity.

I didn't have access to the lyrics, but the motifs I could pick up seemed to be about trying to survive the machine- the Brain Mincer Machine, in this case, which at least suggests the difficulties of sorting through all the current global conflicts and disasters and outright lies being presented to us.

My Conclusion

This veteran quintet brings a lot of talent and polish to the table, and I have the sense they can push into another realm- a tough producer could be just the ticket.

My Rating: 3.25 stars, SLIGHTLY better than "Good, but not essential" progressive rock music.

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