MADAME BLAVATSKY OVERDRIVE

I've reviewed quite a few releases from this group, and this is the first one that I've been totally disappointed by. Where previous releases, while certainly flawed, usually had moments that really took me in, this one feels comparatively very bland. What's worse is that when good moments do come, they're only moments: the songs don't feel fully developed and so when good parts do appear they just as quickly vanish into mediocrity.

"N1H1" begins interestingly enough, with a cool little harmonic vocal melody juxtaposed against some almost noisy riffing. Like a lot of MBO tracks that I've come across in my experience, "N1H1" blends psychedelia and melody with an almost abrasive edge, and the result is a very idiosyncratic little song that's pleasant enough, even if it doesn't feel spectacularly well developed and is far too brief to say much with what it has.

"That's What Drugs Are For" is a little bit of a slinkier number, with some hints of jazz in the instrumentation and the same kind of low, measured vocal delivery that has become something of a calling card for the group. An interesting little instrumental section in the middle makes use of something that sounds like a toy piano, and a psychedelic section that's heavily reminiscent of Abbey Road-era Beatles develops from this. Again, this is not a bad song, but nor is it particularly memorable.

"James Pain" immediately kicks off with a driving guitar riff which sounds to be accompanied by a rather insistent cowbell. The vocal harmonies again remind of the Beatles, but the almost punky riffs and some thoroughly modern textures give the song a unique sound, though there's really no hint of anything even marginally related to prog here.

"Driving Eastbound, Highway 10" is definitely the best song on the EP, with a languid, easy- going melody that reminds the listener of The Flaming Lips, The Beatles, and early Pink Floyd in equal parts, perhaps even with a little Decemberists thrown in as well. It's also probably the most structurally varied piece on the release, despite being only a little over 3 minutes.

So really, there's nothing particularly bad about this EP, but there's nothing that's particularly spectacular as well, and when it comes down to it there's really not much reason to listen to this EP when the two that precede it are so much better. Some decent songs, to be sure, but really nothing that's even crossover prog, and the songs aren't developed enough to be anything more than "just ok" in their own right.

2/5

Another interesting entry from this self described "Progressive Pop" band, and a quite enjoyable one at that. We start off here with the spacey "Ambien," which is a very tripped out, mellow tune with some fairly depressive lyrics. I think that this track foreshadows very well their later release "The Courier," which is filled with such songs. Anyway, "Ambien" definitely shows that the band is very comfortable with this kind of song, but nothing spectacular sticks out, it's a nice song but not much more.

The band follows up with "Solomon Grundy," which begins with a very punchy, poppy guitar riff and sticks to that for a while before switching into a slower section which is backed by a nice, soothing bass line. The song switches back and forth between these motifs before a third theme is introduced, which features some very nice spaced-out guitar. This is a very good song, but like a lot of MBO's early work it goes overlong. I think this song could have been about 6 minutes instead of 8 and not a good deal would have been lost; the ending section drags on for almost a full 2 minutes.

"Anjuna" gives the the impression of a relaxing tropical island. It's another psychedelic song, but with a bit more direction than "Ambien." Pink Floyd's "San Tropez" comes to mind, with just a hint of Beach Boys thrown in.

The EP's closer, "I'm Your Ringtone," is another harder edged song. There's quite a bit of distorted vocals and there's a singular guitar riff that repeats for most of the song. Quite honestly, this is probably my least favorite song on the album. It has a lot of the same problems that I think a lot of MBO's harder stuff has, which is that it uses a lot of really interesting elements but comes off sounding like less than the sum of its parts. It's simply not as interesting to listen to as their psychedelic spacey stuff, at least not yet. (Check out their later album, "The Anonymous Troll" for a more interesting and mature sounding listen).

Overall, "Immanentize the Eschaton" is a solid EP that accomplishes most of what it sets out to do, though the flaws it has in the overlong second track and weak closer feel like a bit of a step back from their previous EP, "Hidden Masters Under Dead Suns". However, like all of the band's work, it's free on their website, so if you have a fondness for the more alt-rock and pop-influenced sides of modern prog, I'd definitely recommend a listen.

3/5

At the time of my writing this, this is the newest MBO release and in my opinion the tightest and most sophisticated. They've managed to combine the fuzzed out, abrasive pop/prog of their debut, the songwriting sophistication of their E.P. cycle and the atmospheric texturing of "The Courier," and managed to combine it into an extremely mature sounding album that's easily their most balanced to date, even though it clocks in at only 27 minutes.

I wrote in my review for their debut, "Idiot Jones Will Have His Day," that those who only associate progressive rock with the grandiose epics of the 70s will not find too much too like, and that definitely holds true for this release as well. I'm not trying to stereotype; I believe that most prog fans, especially on this site, are very openminded, but you should go into this album with the knowledge that it has far more in common with Muse than with Yes.

The first and title track begins with a distorted sounding riff of sorts accompanied by some dark and vaguely surreal sounding lyrics. A synth melody is eventually added over this, but it remains a fairly dark and minimalistic track that has some resemblance to Muse tracks such as "Take a Bow." There's a bit more of a tribal vibe going on here, though, and it's a really interesting song and a great opener. "23," doesn't sound terribly dissimilar from the first track, but it's definitely more atmospheric. It's mostly instrumental as well, with vocals appearing only very briefly and pretty far back in the mix. This track has a lot in common with songs on MBO's previous release, "The Courier," but it fuses in more "punchy" material with the ambient vibe from that album. "I'm The Central Scrutinizer," with its title an apparent reference to Zappa, would have fit in perfectly on any of their early albums. It's a fast, slightly bizarre, mostly pop track, and in my opinion it's one of the weaker tracks. It's not terrible, though, and it's only two and a half minutes so it works for what it is. "The Roosevelt Dime," starts off with what is easily the best riff on the album. I can barely understand the vocals, but despite that it's one of the best songs on the album, though it falls pretty far away from any kind of prog influence. It's a standard rock track, but it's a good one.

"The Bitter End," begins having a bit of a martial flavor to it, and it features what sounds like a harpsichord part that adds nicely to to the feel of the track. The tone of the song changes abruptly midway through, losing the militaristic back-beat and softening up a bit before finishing in a bizarre mash up of applause sound effects and weird noises. "The Linguist" is another softer track, featuring acoustic guitar as the primary instrument, though there's some nice orchestration towards the end. "Me and Joe," is even more stripped back, staying fairly slow throughout its duration and coming off sounding nothing so much as bleak.

Overall, a very solid effort from these "pop prog" rockers and definitely a great example of the more alt. rock and pop influenced side of the Progressive Archives. Not to mention that like all their albums, it's a free download on the band's site.

4/5

I've been getting really into this self-dubbed "progressive pop" band lately, and I have to say that I think this is my favorite of theirs I've listened to so far (though there are still four E.P.s and an album I have yet to hear, so we'll see if that changes).

The first thing of note here is that the writing has tightened up significantly since their first album. That's not surprising, since there was a three year gap in between that release and this one. Their first album often felt as if they were trying too hard to make their brand of pop music progressive, with the result being that songs were often needlessly weird and unnatural feeling. This music sounds a lot smoother and more mature.

The album begins with "Oh The Aphids!" a track which I think can be best described with the word "happy." It's a fairly simple song structurally, but the spacey arrangements work really well and it's a nice little psychedelic song. "The Belldog," operates primarily around a repeating chord progression coupled with a nice little bassline, and it's much closer stylistically to the more aggressive work of their first album. However, as I mentioned before, despite the song's seven minute length, it doesn't sound forced. I wish there was a bit more dynamism as the song really is pretty repetitive, but it's certainly not boring. Honestly, I can hear quite a bit of Muse influence in this song, but the vocals are much more subdued. "West Grand," puts bass and drums at the forefront, adding a very cool and spooky sounding vocal line behind the chorus. The result is a fairly minimalistic sounding song, but in a good way. "The Armies of The Dead" closes off the E.P. It begins with a fairly orchestrated intro but that quickly drops away to just an acoustic guitar and voice. The orchestration is added back in at the end of the first verse, allowing the song to start strong but also build in intensity. Of the four songs on this E.P. this one definitely has the best ambience to it and it was an excellent choice to use it as the closer.

Overall, I would probably recommend anyone looking to try out MBO to start with this. It's short, it's tight, and it gives you a good idea of what the band is all about. Also, it has very nice artwork and, like all the band's music, it's a free download from their website. Well worth the twenty minutes you'll spend listening to it.

4/5

I was very intrigued when I heard this for the first time. I expected it to be something like any of the six previous releases MBO has put out, and instead, it was totally different. Where those albums, and especially their other feature length album "Idiot Jones Will Have His Day" were often punchy, aggressive, occasionally even grating, this is sedate, occasionally even bordering on ambient music. Many songs are even reminiscent of Kraftwerk, not necessarily in the way they sound but in the way they are constructed, with one thing looping while other sounds are added on top of it. It's a fascinating departure from their earlier sound, and it works incredibly well. While I gave "Idiot Jones" three stars as well, this is definitely the more interesting album, and surely the one that I will listen to more often. However, you still aren't missing anything absolutely necessary here if you fail to pick it up, so "Good, but non-essential" seems appropriate. However, as I wrote in my review for "Idiot Jones," they're giving it away for free, so what have you got to lose?

3/5

I heard about this band a long time ago on a prog-rock radio program, and hearing that their album was free for download, decided to check it out. That was perhaps 3 or 4 years ago, and ever since then it's been one of those albums that I listen to every so often, enjoy and then promptly forget about.

It's certainly not a bad album, falling into what I would call "Interesting Pop," certainly showing a lot of influence from progressive rock but not really solidly sitting within the genre. There are no super-long epics, and most of the songs are under five minutes.

Again, that doesn't make it a bad album. There are a lot of great melodies; the choruses of the title track and "Nerve Pill" are especially enjoyable. The reader should be aware, though, that this album has far more in common with alternative and indie rock than it does with the prog mainstream.

Overall then I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this album. Is it worth a listen? Absolutely, but you probably won't be missing anything essential if you don't. Then again, it's free, so what do you have to lose?

3.5/5, rounded down.