SHAMELESSLY DRESSED

Casual Silence is one of the progressive rock bands that I have a soft spot for their music. I reviewed so far two of their albums being quite impressed by music offered , I decided to review two more releases from their catalogue. This time, their EP from 1999 named Shamelessly Dressed. This littel album, because have only 3 pieces is a follow up after their debute album from 1997 and is a quite good rlease, even the production is bad in places, but the ideas are good for sure. From the beggining it was clear that Casual Silence has potential in this scene and the musicians involved bring among the most well performed rogressive rock from last decade, at least for me. This EP is a good one to see how the band was in their early years, but is not something realy special, only ok. The best piece is the last one, the longest Empty hands, 9 min of great prog with a touch of prog metal, but without sounding metal in the end. So this EP is more for the fans, because otherwise I don';t know someone intrested in , beside me. 3 stars, good but nothing realy special.

''Bad side memories'' showed a band with potential but also with evident flaws in its sound.Two years forward Casual Silence would return, this time with a 3-track, 20-min. EP, entitled ''Shamelessly dressed''.By the time they had added a sixth member in the line-up, keyboardist David Natali.

The obvious changes, soundwise speaking, become clear from the very first notes of the title-track, a piece lying somewhere between AOR/ballad stylings and Melodic/Heavy Rock with emphatic vocals and a grandiose atmosphere, based on smooth piano lines, dreamy synthesizer and some strong guitar solos.With '' Different silence'' they play some sort of DREAM THEATER-like Progressive Rock/Metal, featuring the high-pitched vocals of Rob Larrhoven and the punchy electric guitars of D'Armandville/Van Dijk, but the addition of some symphonic keys and the complex synth twists show that the band was heading towards the right direction.''Empty hands'' is a mix of the previous styles, clocking at 9 minutes and allowing the band to perform as many styles as possible.From dramatic Heavy Prog tunes with ethereal keyboards to scratching riffs, from lyrical moments to AOR-spiced choruses, from atmospheric soundscapes to rockin' solos.Another decent attempt by the band to enter more progressive realms.

Casual Silence had sweetened their sound a bit with the addition of keyboards, but their style remained a groovy Heavy Rock/Prog with dominant atmospheres.Well-developed and recommended step.