THE DIVINE BAZE ORCHESTRA

In terms of style we're treated to a band that doesn't feel like staying put within any narrowly defined expression on this occasion. Apart from a firm foundation in what can loosely be described as 70's sounding art rock this is a band fairly liberal when it comes to utilizing different stylistic approaches and features. Something I do tend to appreciate in a band. Potential buyers may note that something of an eclectic musical taste is in order to be able to enjoy this disc.

But as tantalizing and widespread as the compositional details are on this CD, I found myself to be curiously disengaged about this production as a whole. My digital promo copy was massively attacked by artefacts, a result of a digital promotion tool of poor quality I presume, but even that couldn't hide the fact that this is a well produced affair, well performed and I'd guess rather well planned too. It is a production that has a lot going for it, but somehow doesn't quite manage to hit it for me.

Many tracks does feature parts, sequences and themes that does both engage and enthral. The opening minutes of Flow/Unity is as good an example as any, where the first two minutes or thereabout is taken up by a very nice and enthralling theme with something of a heavy fusion sound to it. Well crafted, well performed and genuinely intriguing. The following four minutes are then taken up by a lighter toned theme residing somewhere between light symphonic art rock and gentle fusion in style. Nice and pleasant music by all means, but not of the kind that is able to mesmerise me and make me want to hit repeat right away.

The various tracks for me tends to end up in the nice and pleasant category overall, but apart from the somewhat lacklustre Origins, a song way too fragmented for my personal taste, it would be wrong to describe this as a weak album. It is one that to a greater extent than many will make it or break it on grounds of personal taste alone though, at least according to my mind.

As tastes does indeed differ pulling forth any given song as a good starting point is a task that will probably result in as many different answers as there are songs to choose from. Personally I'd go for What Mustn't Be Spoken, where the opening 4 minutes consists of this album's finest moments as far as my tastes go, with dampened verses featuring gentle guitar riffs and a brooding undercurrent courtesy of the organ, followed by a majestic multilayered theme featuring keyboard, Mellotron and guitars.

If you fancy a slice of 70's oriented art rock covering multiple stylistic subsets "Dead But Dreaming" may be an album to your taste. With H. P. Lovecraft's horror universe as something of a read thread lyrically, fans of his endeavours will perhaps have an advantage in terms of being ensnared by this production. All in all a well made effort, and while I wasn't totally convinced I'd suspect that many whose tastes are centred around eclectic 70's art rock should find this one rather pleasing.

This is the debut of a new swedish band which has its home in the heavy prog genre. 'Once we were born ...' is released by the Transubstans Records label which is known for offering a lot of interesting nordic bands. Ten songs with an overall good sound, sophisticated but also with space for improvisation. The band recorded the songs within two days, nearly on the fly, only with overdubs for some vocals and mellotron. You can examine a lot of changes and surprises. First of all because of the excellent rhythm section the album is full of power and dynamic.

I'm quite sure this band delivers a very exciting performance on stage. So I hope I'll be able to see them live sometime in the future. Daniel Karlsson's excellent organ contributions are attracting attention and of course Alexander Frisborg's special vocals which are sounding somewhat strange for the first rounds but are suitable if you take more time to explore this album. Finally Oliver Eek is important adding his various guitar work and rounding up the sound of THE DIVINE BAZE ORCHESTRA.

With the hammond dominated Dance and Choose Your Green we have a very rocking and promising start whereas the latter is spiked with screaming, nearly overburdening vocals and some BLACK SABBATH riffs at the end. The following Trota Di Mare is basically a boogie in the vein of UFO's best days. For the classic blues Orange and Turquoise Oliver Eek occupies the lead vocals, even with some roaring moments, and demonstrates that he's even more than an excellent guitarist. We also have nice percussion attendance in the background here and the organ ... wow, fantastic. One of the album highlights.

The shorter tracks In Search and Little Man are having a heavy psych vibe and then with the last four songs the band is focussing on the jamming qualities a little more. The person with decent mellotron use and Closing The Circle are containing a jazzy rocking touch. The excellent The Man From My Mother's Brother is provided with a groove sounding like american jam bands but alternating with carousel organ parts. Burned By The Sun, the longest track, evolves to a fine dynamic rock song with a psychedelic break and high toned backing vocals like URIAH HEEP in the end.

'Once we were born ...' promises a good mix of retro and modern elements - a matured, diversified debut album of a band from the depths of the swedish forests.