STILL LIFE

This is another progressive rock album: VDGG keep the same style and sound here, and the compositions seem slightly less elaborated than usual. There are VERY lengthy bits; the music is mostly unmelodic and Hammill's voice is annoying, as always. The keyboardist is too linear, especially when he plays the organ in the background, which seems to be the only keyboard used here, excluding piano: the mellotron is very hard to detect. "La Rossa" is more loaded, reaching a climax between 6:10 and 6:40, but it still remains tedious to listen. The sax parts are often as annoying as the singer's lead vocals. The "Pilgrim" and "Still Life" tracks are often insipid and go nowhere. "My Room" is among the best tracks here, with more delicate, jazzy & echoed saxes, catchy piano and gentle cymbals patterns. "Childlike faith in childhood's end" is not really memorable, except for the bit between 7:35 and 7:50, which reminds the Happy The Man band of the 70's, and except for some more interesting parts during the second half of the track. I don't think VDGG is a difficult music: their ingredients just do not work very much for me. After 6 albums, I feel like I do not want to know more about them...