TERRAPATH

Once is not customary, let's first stop at the magnificent "artwork" of ' Terrapath ', which is reminiscent of the heyday of Progressive Rock album covers from the 70s (although created by software based on Artificial Intelligence, so?). The group Plantoid , a young British group, plays music inspired by Progressive Rock, tinged with Jazz Fusion and some Folk or psychedelic Rock elements. It's a style that particularly speaks to me, and it's a great discovery to which I invite you.

"Is That You" takes its time to set the scene and imprint the style of the band. A long instrumental build-up with Jazz sounds opens the door to the very pure voice of Chloe Coyne which could have come out of a Bossa-nova album from the 50s. The mixture of vocal softness and instrumental groove is a real success and constitutes a strong point of the group. At the end, the atmosphere changes to make way for "fuzzy" instrumentation which tends towards Psychedelic Rock. Would my favorite streaming app have directed me to another band between the first and second songs? No, it's still Plantoid on "Pressure", a Pop-Punk-Garage track which completely contrasts with the rest of the album. I would describe it as "oddity", certainly intentional. The fundamentals are restored on "Modulator", and we happily find the soft voice, the up-tempo jazz and beautiful flights of solo guitar. We will also notice layers of keyboards broken by slightly dissonant chords which bring spice to the composition. "It's Not Real" is a short instrumental, as if escaped from a dream, with a very elaborate atmosphere thanks to the contribution of different sounds and sound effects. Then comes the hyper-syncopated riff of "Dog's Life", on which a very melodic singing develops despite the incessant changes of tone. The second part of the song is marked by a furious Jazz-psyche break. It is a stripped-down arrangement of complex harmony that characterizes "Only When I'm Thinking", on which the vocals are clearly highlighted. The following 3 titles follow one another to form a suite. This begins with "Wander/Wonder", the start of which made me think of certain Sade titles from the 80s. After the "Wander" part, it's time for the very effective instrumental passage "Wonder", a marvel of riffs and sounds, rhythmic breaks and Jazz-Rock improvisations. The segue into "Insomniac (Don't Worry)" is almost imperceptible. This title seems to express in music the disturbed phases of sleep and awakening on a rhythm that runs after time. And it is the energetic instrumental "GY Drift" which ends the suite in the style of a modern-day Santana . To gently close the record, the aptly named "Softly Speakin " surprises with its Dream Pop-style piano accompaniment of which the main voice once again constitutes the central element.

This first Plantoid album is a success. The group manages to share its universe, sometimes ethereal, sometimes more furious, but with constant instrumental mastery. This "bi-polarity" is embodied on one side by the angelic voice of singer Chloe Coyne and on the other side by the organic and earthy instruments guided by Tom Coyne 's guitar . A first record which calls for others. We will not fail to closely follow the development of this promising new group.

Review originally posted on www.progcritique.com.