SPORELIGHTS

Cesar Marquez started using the name Bauda in his native Chile in 2006, and with the assistance of session musicians he released an EP, 'Del Mar Al Aire' in 2006, and followed that up with a full-length album, 'Oniirica' in 2009. It wasn't until 2012 that the solo effort became more of a band approach with the addition of Nikolas Recabarren on drums and Juan Diaz on bass guitar, and it was this line- up that released the second full-length album 'Euphoria? Of Flesh, Men and the Great Escape' which saw them compared with the likes of Porcupine Tree and Opeth. Prior to starting on the next album, Edgardo Gonzalez joined on keyboards, and they then invited Rene Rutten from The Gathering to work with them as producer. It took a full two years to complete the work, which was eventually released in October 2015.

It was only after researching the band that I came across comments pertaining to Porcupine Tree, which I found interesting as it was the band that I also thought they had most on common with, but I certainly didn't pick up on any Opeth tendencies ? possibly they had dropped those for this album. But I'm getting ahead of myself, as when the album started I was convinced that here was a band that was heading into an Ozric influenced Hawkwind styled type of space rock. The opening song, "Aurora", is one of two instrumentals on the album, and is incredibly powerful and vibrant, and I was immediately impressed and was looking forward to hearing the rest, and certainly wasn't expecting the shift in style that was to come. After that bright opening it all slowed down; the Porcupine Tree influences were there, but there was also quite a lot of Manchester scene indie rock such as Blur and even Oasis.

The power that was so prevalent in the opener was lost in a layering of sound that was dreamy, with power in the background that was being suffocated by mountains of cotton wool. The strange thing is that the production of the drums is crisp and punchy throughout, so that often I found myself concentrating more on the wonderful work of Nikolas, who is a revelation with his differing styles, touches and nuances, than on the song itself. Per their own statement, the music is "fused with landscapes, textures, surfaces of Chile in different shades and styles of music, either post rock, folk, ambient, dark, finally alternative rock." There is certainly a great deal going on, but to me it is too alternative/post rock for me, and not nearly enough progressive. I can see what they're trying to do, but it's not really for me.