VOLUME ONE

The guys in the band sure seem to be anxious of knowing my opinion of their ambitious 38 minute suite of a debut record. Well, let's not waste any more time and dive into my somewhat underdeveloped thoughts on the music!

I haven't really had the time to absorb this material after listening to it approximately 4,5 times, where one session was somewhat abrupt which resulted in me pausing the music never returning to that exact same spot again. Based on my initial impressions I found the music to be a hopscotch of great ideas and moments that don't actually make much sense in this continuous form. Volume One features some very good moments which at first sight seem genuinely intriguing but after some inspection made me think of some of the compositions that have featured the same moments done to much greater effect. The comparison of the opening few minutes to that one particular Yes masterpiece is undeniable, but that's actually one of the many great tributes that are buried within layers of this track's sound. There is one point (at 14:45) where I actually began to think that I was listening to one of those medley tracks by Ruins (Progressive Rock Medley being the obvious favorite of mine)!

After hearing tributes to King Crimson, the Doors and everyone in between the two, it finally dawned on me that none of this material actually had anything distinguishably personal about it. Yes, the jam-like playing is marvelously executed and some of the souring saxophone moments actually manage to paint some pretty vivid landscapes (especially the part around 20:30). Unfortunately nothing here manages to actually move me on a personal level and once these 38 minutes are up I swiftly move on to my usual routines. I also don't particularly enjoy the noodling guitar sound featured on this recording. Please note that I'm referring to the actually sound and not to the playing, since that's actually done nicely!

I didn't really understand the reason why Perhaps was labeled as being a Post Rock/Math rock act since the sound featured for the majority of the running time has more in common with RIO/Avant-Prog or even Eclectic Prog. Luckily the last seven minutes of the opus do feature some distinct Post Rock sounds (even if the guitar sound and the massive grainy percussion arrangements are still a bit rough on my ears). These last few minutes of the composition's running time do make it seem more pompous than the scraps and pieces that came before and thus almost making me believe that I enjoyed myself more than I actually did. Nevertheless, once the music is over there's none of the satisfaction that I get out of listening to the great lengthy tracks from progressive giants of the past. Having said that, I still believe that Volume One is a grower so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

*** star songs: Volume One (37:48)

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