OBSCUROS

"Obscuros" is the latest release from the indie prog band Disconnect. It is their second full-length album released in the last 7 months (!!). I've already reviewed their debut album ("Radio Hostile") as well as their follow-up EP ("Fragments"). I really dig this band a lot, and without question "Obscuros" is their finest effort to date. I thought they were already hitting a good stride with their debut, but "Obscuros" is definitely their most progressive work I've heard yet.

"The Visitor" - The song begins with some very heavy riffs and the type of intense & precise drumming I've come to expect from this band. If I had to compare the sound of this track to something, I'd have to say it reminds me of Oceansize (particularly the Effloresce era). The song builds to a lovely ending, very powerful song. It may be my favorite song on the album.

"Circadian Rhythms" - lots of percussion and keyboards to start this one off...some screeching, distorted guitar brings to mind The Mars Volta. When the verse sections kick in, you can hear the Porcupine Tree influence the band carries with them. The chorus sections offer a very nice melodic break from the angular approach of the verse sections. The song ends with a tasty fadeout with acoustic guitar & percussion.

"Obscuros" - the album's only instrumental track and one of the best songs I've heard from this band. The song evolves through many phases - initially sounding like a lost King Crimson song, then moving into a very Pink Floyd type of vibe. The middle guitar solo section once again recalls Mars Volta and features some nice guitar leads (with a slight Flamenco accent in approach). Another highlight of the album for sure. The bass really stands out on this song, impressive stuff.

"K.G." - according to the band's Facebook page, this song was written in dedication to Kevin Gilbert. The lyrics are definitely a nod to Gilbert, while the music reflects Gilbert's style as well as Spock's Beard and Neal Morse. Features a nice piano/acoustic guitar solo section as the outro.

"What Else Is Left To Say?" - a 14-minute epic prog rock classic (in my opinion). I've spun this song at least 10 times and I still get chills during certain parts. This track is really hard to classify. It begins with a 70s prog sort of feel, then moves into a VERY prog-metal part. It continues to evolve and the influences of Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd make another appearance. They even manage to channel a little OSI here. The drumming throughout is outstanding to the point of even making the listener feel emotion through the drumming. Electronic drums are used with great effect in parts.

"Aggregate Waste" - probably the most straightforward on the album, but still prog. It reminds me a little of "Squonk" by Genesis without being derivative. It also has a Steely Dan sort of feel as the lyrics are rather biting.

"Outlander" - very powerful track that takes you through a lot of different moods. Main verse sections are in Disconnect's trademark odd meters. I absolutely LOVE the solo sectiont that begins with a Mellotron solo and moves into a bombastic guitar solo with a underlying riff that is unstoppable. The song ends on a dark note, returning to the vibrato guitar heard at the intro underneath a legendary recording made by Robert Oppenheimer ("...Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds"). Good stuff.

"A Most Unpleasant Business" - this song tells the tale of a suicide by hanging from the point of view of someone who seems to be observing the event. The intro/break riff is in a time signature that I still haven't been able to sort out. The verse sections give you a Porcupine Tree/Pink Floyd vibe.

In a very short time, Disconnect has gone from making very good prog ("Radio Hostile", their debut) to making excellent prog ("Obscuros"). They are definitely a band that more people need to hear, and hopefully they will get noticed. I consider "Obscuros" to be an excellent album and have no trouble giving it 5-stars.

DISCONNECT are a two-headed project of longtime musical collaborators. Brian Eschrich cares for the percussion work where Erich O'Dell is the multi-instrumentalist who brings his guitar, bass and keyboard skills in. Now they are seemingly bubbling over with ideas - 2010 has been a very productive year for them with an EP and two full albums as the result. 'Obscuros' is their current effort, shows them on a promising way where they blend eclectic, heavy rocking and mellow elements in their own unique way.

Well - a decision to start with 'What Else Is Left To Say?' would be a bit contra-productive in a literal sense, right? So I'll keep this locked until later. The album starts with The Visitor - a bit Rush influenced maybe - I liked the varied guitar work, sometimes even psychedelic tinged. A nice one - only the backing (female?!) vocals are irritating me around the six minute mark, dimminish my good feelings a bit. Never mind, the groovy Circadian Rhythms distracts me from that immediately due to this interesting jazzy/ethno percussion work right from the start.

The formidable instrumental title track then comes along with grooving sections and distinct King Crimson influences. Aggregate Waste is superficially reaching for mainstream territories, except the eclectic guitar interlude somewhere in between. K. G. indeed is reminding of Kevin Gilbert in some way - a lively song provided with esprit and an outro showing nice acoustic guitar and piano contributions. A Most Unpleasant Business works good too, inspired by Steven Wilson as well as provided with a straightforward rocking part.

On the extended What Else Is Left To Say? they take their time to let it flow - a mellow melodic start, charming electric piano. And then a switch to a strong metal attitude with heavy guitar riffs occurs for the first time. A tricky exemplar - changing time signatures - some Porcupine Tree reminiscences here - a symphonic touch there, when they come back to the relaxed starting point. And finally O'Dell adds nice guitar solos.

'Obscuros' holds heavy outfitted songs in the majority, decorated with well placed guitar riffs, melody, variety. They put prog basics with some mainstream rock elements together. An album which cannot shoot me down really, however a solid effort for sure. I wished to detect catchy elements bearing more remembrance, which bands like Rush and Porcupine Tree are able to deliver. And Erich's vocal impact is limited, an obvious issue to improve. All in all as for production and compositional attempt a promising affair though.

I've been listening to Obsuros a lot now for about a month, and this album just keeps growing on me. I was first turned on to Disconnect with Fragments and Radio Hostile. Radio Hostile being the more solid effort of the first two releases, but Obsuros takes Disconnect to new levels, and on to something that could be great.

The album opens up with The Visitor. A good track, and solid opener. Circadian Rhythms is a track that took me a bit to get into, but is now one of my favorites. The techno intro at first did little for me, but is now absolutely mesmerizing. Can't imagine this song with out it now. Lyrically, this is one of the more solid efforts on the album, and a catchy chorus to boot.

I'm a sucker for the lone instrumental on an album, and the title track, Obscuros, is no exception. There's a brief moment that reminds me of the Echoes jam...great stuff. K.G. is my least favorite track on the album, while a good track, it seems out of place on Obsuros, and seems more Radio Hostilish.

What Else Left to Say is the longest track on the album, clocking in at over 14 minutes. This track flows really nice from soft to hard, followed by some really tasty work by O'Dell on the guitar. Aggregate Waste is another one of those tracks that grew on me, and is now one of my favorite tracks.The ideas in the track may have been better suited for a 5 or 6 minute piece, but it still works fine at 7 minutes.

The album closes with Outlander and A Most Unpleasant Business...probably my favorite portion of the album. Outlander has my favorite vocals on the album, as well as a great instrumental section that caught me off guard, that leads to some more tasty O'Dell guitar work. A Most Unpleasant Business caught me from the opening chords, on the first listen. The subdued vocal segments that follow are the perfect complement to it. I especially like the background keys (?) that accompany the chord progression when it is reprised. The song is the perfect album closer, as the build to the finish the song is probably the finest moment of the album. So good, that it usually leads me to start the album again.

Obscuros is a very solid album, and I can't wait to see how Disconnect builds upon this giant leap.

This album is quite a turnaround from Disconnect's first album (Radio Hostile). The songs are much more dense and complex, and lyrically we hear a much darker side of the band as well. Obscuros isn't a concept album as its predecessor was yet from a songwriting standpoint this album stands as a much more progressive piece of work.

Standout tracks for me are 'The Visitor', which is a great opening track for the album. This leads into 'Circadian Rhythms' which displays the band's deep Rush influence. The focus of the album is the 14-minute epic 'What Else Is Left To Say' that takes the listener through several different moods and sonic landscapes. The album closes with another great track, 'A Most Unpleasant Business'.

A great sophomore release from this prog duo that I've kept in playing rotation for nearly 6 months already...

Points of reference for Disconnect - an American two-member studio project - would be the rockier sides of the classic prog equation (Rush, King Crimson - of the slower variety, even a little Black Sabbath), as well as more mainstream strains of 70s inspired American rock. Obscruros actually is a fairly diverse album - an anthemic hard rock, an alternatingly spooky riff-catchy chorus song, an ever-evolving Crimsonian instrumental with a rumbling organ later on, a funky number, a heavily distorted and slowed fantasy epic, even a country-bluesy outro solo. Songs are mostly based on repeating main melodic pattern and alternating backing pattern with extended instrumental middles, often featuring various effects on the instruments, which, to tell the truth, are hit-and-miss.

Well colour me surprised I actually found a DISCONNECT album that I like! I honestly wasn't expecting this after checking out several of their other recordings and just not feeling it at all. I mean there would be the odd good song but this has at least five tracks that are excellent to say the least. Now there's two songs that I would discard from this disc if I could that being "K.G." and the other "Aggregate Waste" but that's not enough negativity to go 3 stars here. Okay a low 4 stars it is. It's a 65 plus minute disc from this duo out of New Jersey. Lots of heaviness on this one and the vocals which have been an issue in the past most of the time really only falter on the two tracks that I mentioned earlier.

So much good music on here including the opener "The Visitor" where they contrast the calm parts with the heaviness really well. "Circadian Rhythms" is great right from the hop. It turns more powerful just before 2 minutes and vocals arrive. Just a really cool sounding tune. The title track reminds me at times of KING CRIMSON during their "Discipline" era. I like the way they change things up on that long track "What Else Is Left To Say?" at over 14 minutes. Time to try some things here and they do. Spacey moments, powerful ones, distortion and more. Love the guitar style after 4 1/2 minutes and after 9 minutes and after 13 minutes. "Outlander" opens sounding familiar and it ends that way too with the powerful and experimental sounds. Some grungy guitar here when it kicks in. Spacey too at times along with distortion. Spoken words late. The closer again contrasts the heaviness and mellow parts really well.

As Uwe points out, in 2010 this band released two studio albums and an EP. The inspiration was flowing but mostly it poured into "Obscuros".