THIS BREAD IS MINE

Brave?

Just over a year after releasing their superb second album "Yesterday is a friend", talented Polish band Believe return with their third offering. For this album, they call upon the services of back room staff with impressive credentials, including noted Polish producer Włodek Kowalczyk and British sound engineer Andy Jackson. More obvious perhaps though is the arrival of vocalist/flautist/keyboards player Karol Wróblewski in place of Tomek Rozycki. Wróblewski fits in well, his occasional contributions on flute adding an extra dimension to tracks such as "Darkness".

The overall mood here tends to be mellower than on previous albums, the atmospheric violin of Satomi (now fully installed as a band member) emphasising the at times almost melancholy feel.

The 11 tracks are carefully crafted affairs, with non-band member Robert Sieradzki once again writing the English language lyrics. The songs tend to merge together to form a greater whole in a similar way to that of Hogarth era Marillion on albums such as "Brave" and on albums such as "The wall". The lead guitar of Mirek Gil is less obvious overall this time, but his solos on tracks such as "Problems rise" are as captivating as ever.

The rather oddly named "Aa" features more fine violin from Satomi, who enjoys here first co-credit for the song writing. Her playing is reminiscent of some of Daryll Way's work with Curved Air, which in itself is surely a strong recommendation. The title track on the other hand is in some ways quite at odds with the rest of the album, especially in view of the disturbed/disturbing spoken word section.

The move away from the lush neo-prog of Collage and indeed of previous Believe albums may be considered brave by some. With "This bread is mine", Believe are making a clear effort to create and album of moods and atmospheres. For me the album is an unqualified success, which continues to grow with successive plays. Undoubtedly, new fans will be drawn to the band through this release, but there may also be some who find themselves unwilling to believe in the change of direction it represents.

BELIEVE has effected dramatic shifts in each of their 3 studio albums to date. Their debut was an neo grunge like affair, quite unexpected from the man who brought us the lush solos of the COLLAGE classic "Moonshine". Their sophomore effort was a crisp and more subtle production, with wondrous interplay between the members, more room for Satomi's violin, and a willingness to inject variety in the form of sparse but notable flutes and keyboards. The tendency to play close to the RIVERSIDE was somewhat dubious, but it was the Riverside without the growls and PINK FLOYD sans perpetual moroseness. For their third try we knew to expect the unexpected, and Believe has delivered.

A significant lineup shift has provided the impetus for Believe to take it down a notch, more in mood than in tempo. New vocalist "Karol Wróblewski" has a voice that is meant for a more subdued style, but I admit it is somewhat an acquired taste, whereas Tomek Rozycki was just plain likable and adaptable. Karol is gruffer, less dynamic. This could have been compensated but instead the overall production seems muffled, the presence of Andy Jackson as sound engineer notwithstanding. He is also given more in the way of cliched lyrics, some of which choose to reappear later in the disk to make matters worse.

Whereas on "Yesterday is a Friend", BELIEVE balanced creativity and unpredictability with scintillating melodies and unforgettable choruses, here Gil seems to have made the decision not to "go there"....too slowly. This is especially true on two of the longer tracks that would have had a lot more power had they been more succinct - "Tales from Under the Tree" and "And All the Roads". "Darkness" is a harder rocker with a prime riff that is more reminiscent of the work on "Hope to See Another Day", but without a real turning point, which on that album might have taken the form of a wrenching violin solo. The title cut and "Mine" are not even that good, and by this point the use of spoken and whispered vocals, particularly with little cutesy remarks to close a song, effective in small doses, has become more of an irritant.

It's left to the emotionally cathartic ballad "Mother", the cohesive phases of "Problems Rise", the haunting Satomi-dominated "Aa", catchy "This is Life", and the closing folk song "Silence" to carry the torch. I'm not trying to say this is a bad album at all. Believe has staked out a credible niche in neo prog, and most of what's here is an enjoyable if unspectacular listen on its own terms, but my conclusion is that it's not up to the standards of the previous two albums, so I would recommend breaking bread with them first. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Out goes the grunge parts and in comes the alternative pop. Or so it seems at first. Listening to Polish band Believe´s third effort shows the band changing course once again. You can´t really blame guitarist and founder member Mirek Gil for being repetitive, Here you can hardly remember him for his important role defining the trademark sounds of seminal prog bands like Collage and Satellite. His guitar playing is still gorgeous, there are some fantastic electric and acoustic guitar lines. But the tunes are simply not as good as on their second CD (their best so far).

The change of singers does not help matters much either. The guy has a nice voice but his style too close to bands like Radiohead for my taste. Satomi´s violin solos don´t have much room here (at least not as much as the previous work). In the end I found This Bread Is Mine a bit tedious on some parts . Of course all the musicians involved are great, the arrangements are quite good and there are always Gill´s guitar solos to make the difference Still the band seem to be drifting away from prog and getting closer to alternative pop.

Conclusion: not a bad CD at all, I must say. But I was expecting something more progressive since Yesterday Is A Friend showed so much promise in that direction. As it is, This Bread Is Mine is good, but definitely not essential. 3 stars.

Polish outfit Believe have been active for a few years now, and with their first two productions they started getting some truly deserved attention for their particular blend of melodic, progressive rock. This Bread Is Mine is a major step backwards though, as far as I'm concerned.

It took me quite a while and many listens to gather just what was missing though. Albeit less energetic in expression and a much more laid-back affair than their previous works the music still contain elements I generally find pleasing: Haunting guitar soloing, subdued guitar riffs and wandering acoustic guitar passages with frequent utilization of soaring violins. This time around with flute flurries added to the menu. All of them musical elements I tend to like, especially when assembled in works of a melancholic nature.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that the lead vocals was the main cause of my slight dislike this time around. Slightly too deep or slightly too high in tone rather often. Not by much by any means, but enough to create a disruption in the mood for me. A tendency for too much of a melodramatic vocal delivery is a further negative in my book.

Other details where easier identifiable. Like the tilte track, 5 minutes of almost pure musical bliss, and then a dark, final segment with spoken words that are completely at odds with the rest of the composition. Or on the track Darkness, containing distinct passages enjoyable in themselves, but assembled together in one composition they contrast each other way too much for my personal tastes.

Those who generally enjoy melodic, neo progressive rock with violins, flute and subdued guitars might find this venture pleasing though. I'm very particular about vocals, and those less inclined than me to become uneasy with vocal performances may just take an interest in this production. My main impression is that This Bread Is Mine is a flawed effort though, and the weakest effort so far by this highly talented Polish outfit.

Fall of 2008 was a period of big changes for Believe.Keyboardist Adam Milosz moved away for good, suffering from prematiral stress, but the biggest loss was the departure of talented singer Tomasz Rozycki, who was feeling exhausted by the whole project of running a group.Gil announced the arrival of new frontman Karol Wroblewski, a 19-old singer, who could also play the flute.Some six months later Believe had recorded their third album ''This bread is mine'', released in August 2009, always supported by Metal Mind.

Listening to the album I have the feeling that Mirek Gil hurried up to make the introduction of the new singer.Material was not as strong as on the previous albums, while Wroblewski was handed too many duties in a short time, he was also responsible for the keyboard parts of the album besides his regular ones as a lead singer and flutist.The band appears to distinguish from the charming stylings of Polish Prog and comes up with a work, sounding like millions of other modern Prog albums, having PINK FLOYD and PORCUPINE TREE as the main guiding lights.Tracks are mostly atmospheric without any significant symphonic orientations, limited keyboards have transformed Believe into a slightly rawer band and the overall mood sounds like Gil and Wroblewski running the project, even Satomi's violin moves do not sound quite as nice as on the previous album.My main problem though comes from the similarity between the tracks, practically following the same form, which included slow tempo electric guitars and lyrical explorations, always interrupted by laid-back textures with bits of flute and maybe acoustic guitars.No true dynamics, pretty rare explosions and a generally lyrical, smooth atmosphere, which even makes it doubtful of how progressive this work is.Of course Mr. Gil hasn't left his talent at home, there are some beautiful, cinematic passges in here with a distinctive Post Rock background and some great guitar work, but, when we are talking about this man, expectations are really high.

Change of frontman had an impact on Believe's sound and actually a questionable one.I think that there was a bit of rush by the band to expose their new singer to the public and I have to believe this was the reason why ''This bread is mine'' sounds a bit pale and uninspired.Average work by the standards of Mirek Gil's talent...2.5 stars.