SELFISHNESS - SOURCE OF WAR & VIOLENCE

The second album from this Canadian multi-instrumentalist. The first thing that stood out to me was the Peter Hammill like vocals. Wasn't expecting that. I've heard very little recent Symphonic Prog, so I didn't know what to expect with this album. There is a guest vocalist and a guest drummer here, but most songs do not feature drums and Robert himself does the lead vocals. The album is a concept about problems in the world which are reflected in the lyrics. The music is generally moody, not upbeat or happy.

"Agoraphobia" is the most rocking song. I like the bass sound at the start; don't know if that's a bass guitar or a synth, but I like it. The riffs here are pretty good. Nice echoed vocal effect at one point. Gets more mellow in the middle with a guitar solo. "Terrorism: A Two Actors Play" has some interesting keyboard work. "Blind Heart" has a nice mix of guitars and keyboards. I like the almost metal guitar playing done on phased guitar. Later some good acoustic guitar playing and symphonic synths before an electric guitar solo. After some cool phased synths and the acoustic guitar playing gets more interesting. Then a short synth solo followed by some piano. Great instrumental.

"Last Call For A Change" reminds me of Soft Machine at the start; nice electric piano sound. "Self Contempt Behaviour Or Social Poverty" and "Time Fracture" begin with the exact same bass line. "Time" is "Self" all over again but now with atmospheric synths. Has the same lyrics as "Self" with some addition lyrics I think. Both songs have a nice cello sound at one point. "Hoping On The Next Generation" has what sounds like two overdubbed basses passing notes back and forth. Next to the first song, this is the only other one where the drums are important. Love the organ over halfway with the martial drumming. Nice string-synths later on.

I like this the more I hear it. There are some cool guitar tones here using chorus and phaser. The bass playing is generally enjoyable. Some overdubbed vocal effects in places. The drums I find to be mixed too low, but maybe that was on purpose. This is a good album but I think there is an audience out there that would enjoy this more than me. To me, this album is good but not essential. 3 stars.