PART THE SECOND

It's not often you come across an album of utterly extreme quality. Even more surprising, you will hardly ever find an album of this quality that is given free by the artist. That is what Part the Second is. This album, released in 2009 over the internet, is maudlin of the Well's 4th album, comprised of 5 tracks of varying lengths, from 6 minutes to just under 12 minutes. Though the album is brief for modern standard, being only 45 minutes, every minute grabs your attention.

After my first listen, I was intrigued by this eclectic album. I hadn't and honestly still haven't listened to much avant garde influenced prog, so hearing this album took some getting used to. The time it took to get used to this album was totally worth it, as it has now become one of my favorite albums. Each track has a unique feel to it as well. The first track largely explores a post rock feel. Metal starts being incorporated from the 2nd track on word, to greater and lesser extents. Despite the diverse palette of sounds and genres used, the album has a flow.

Highlights for me are "An Excerpt from 6,000,000,000,000 Miles Before the First, or, the Revisitation of the Blue Ghost", "Clover Garland Island", and "Laboratories of the Invisible World (Rollerskating the Cosmic Palmistric Postborder)". (Nice song titles)

This is a true work of art: a melding of chamber rock, post rock, avant garde metal, and many other diverse elements. A well deserved 5 stars. If you do not own this album, you are sorely remiss. Go download it from maudlin of the Well's website!!