OFFWORLD

There isn't actually much this record can offer me. I could imagine that one of their influences is late TALK TALK which does not give me anything as well. It's mainly soft mellow music with a bit spacey approach. One of the better tracks is "Dark Matter" which reminds a bit to early PORCUPINE TREE. But altogether this band shows a bit more poppy, not so much proggy approach. After a few songs the album becomes quite tiresome to listen. If at all it might be interesting for fans of TALK TALK, maybe SIGUR ROS, but I would rather recommend PORCUPINE TREE for this kind of music.2 stars that's the highest rating I can give.

Xenn is a bit of an odd member of the neo progressive family. If it's neo at all ... Well, I will not start that debate in this review because that's our rule. Maybe I will in the forum one day. Why it's debatable ? Because this band sounds more spacey to me with just some neo elements there like the occasional instrumental bits and pieces.

The vocalist in the opening title track sounds pretty much like Yogi Lang of RPWL and the band sound is more like their fellow countrymen RIVERSIDE and all things considered it's indeed a sort of mix of Riverside and RPWL. And when I say Riverside I mean their spacey side and then of course Porcupine Tree comes to mind also maybe as third ranked comparison. Biggest difference between Xenn and Riverside is the versatility in sound that is really there with Riverside's music like metal and their almost symphonical epics besides their ambient space ballads. Xenn just plays a mix of the epical style with spacey softer music.

Their spacey impact has no doubt to do with the subject they are singing about. In Offworld things sound a bit different probably. Downside of this album is the lack of versatility like I already mentioned. It's a bit much of the same. If you like the style this album is recommendable of course and probably also if you like something else in the style of Riverside and Porcupine Tree but don't expect anything better than what those bands do. Three stars for this.

XENN from Poland was formed by former ABRAXAS guitarist Luq Swiech who enlisted former ABRAXAS bassists Rafal Ratajczak and Bagin (Chapman Stick). Add a drummer and guest vocalists as well to fill out the lineup.The music here sounds nothing like Neo-Prog as it is dark and very atmospheric with plenty of loops, shakers, devices, samples, tambourine, synths, bells and more. I was so surprised at how good this album is considering the low ratings here, lets just say I wasn't expecting much. By the way this sounds nothing like ABRAXAS.This is a concept album set in 2070 and I have to give the band credit for the liner notes and pictures as they went all out on this one-off recording.The cover art is even better when you open it up to include the back cover.

"Offworld" is my favourite. It opens with sampled words followed by bass then reserved vocals. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes. Great sound as the contrasts continue. "Chinatown" opens with water sounds and voices. It turns darker with spoken vocals. Singing before a minute as voices and atmosphere continue. It kicks in after 3 1/2 minutes. Nice. It settles back 5 minutes in to the end. "Dark Matter" is the longest track at just over 10 minutes. Spacey blips to start as the atmosphere rolls in. Drums and bass follow. Vocals 3 1/2 minutes.The intensity stops before 8 minutes then the atmosphere comes in and builds. "Hiperprzesrton" has some cool sounding vocals in Polish that are deep and almost spoken. It's dark and atmospheric. Regular vocals kick in briefly at 1 1/2 minutes then back to the cool ones. "Land" is different from the rest. In fact it reminds me of Kevin Ayers of all people. It's a catchy little ditty that gets fuller 2 minutes in.

"Chandelier" has relaxed guitar, bass and jangling sounds early on. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes with vocals. Nature sounds after 3 minutes as it settles with lots of atmosphere. It kicks back in before 4 minutes with plenty of percussion then vocals. "Antares" is a short atmospheric piece. "A Postcard From Offworld" opens with spoken words before intricate sounds including guitar come in. We get voices and atmosphere too. "Xennomorph" opens with atmosphere as a door creaks open followed by a beat then spoken vocals before a minute. Female vocals before 2 1/2 minutes before the spoken male vocals return. "The Dawn On The Chandelier" is another short atmospheric piece that ends with the sound of crickets and blends into "Mesmerized" where vocals, bass, drums and more are added. "Dancing River Bar" is catchy with spoken vocals,piano and percussion standing out.

On all of these tracks we get a lot of different sounds happening, much more than I describe. Easily 4 stars and a great headphone album.