PSICOLORAMA

Psicolorama is a Crossover Prog band from Spain that was formed in 2013. It is a project from musician M. Casado, who, up until 2019 has released 15 full length LPs. That is a lot of albums in a short time from a band that there is so little information on. The 15th album was released in April of 2019 and is called "Prog Man Rock". It has a total of 4 tracks, but the run-time of the album is just under an hour.

"El Hombre en el Castillo" (The Man in the High Castle) begins with a 20 minute track which starts out quite serene with guitar and vocals (in Spanish) and moves through two verses before an abrupt change that is almost jarring. You don't hear any more vocals until after the 17 minute mark. In the meantime, guitar and various keyboards trade off solos while the rhythm section changes meters and moods often. The music moves clumsily along through various thematic elements, remaining instrumental through most of the piece. There is a lot of promise in the music, but the production is sub-par and far from perfect as things don't really flow very well and it sounds as if there weren't a lot of resources to do a lot of takes, that's the impression I get.

"Madre en la Madriguera" (Mother in the Burrow) is a 12 minute track that is more cohesive in that it follows a singular theme with vocals and piano led instrumentals. The intended feel is probably supposed to be heartfelt and emotional, but it comes off feeling strangely harsh and rough. At 7 minutes, the music is drowned out by a wind effect and electronic loops fade in bringing along harsh and dissonant guitars.

"Un Triste Ciprés" (A Sad Cypress) has a decent acoustic guitar solo taking up the first 3 minutes before the vocals come in. The acoustic guitar continues to accompany the vocals with only some vocal effects added in. The minimal sound continues as the guitar is replaced by a piano, but at 6 minutes, a slow rhythm and guitars come in. Soon things get minimalist again when some odd vocals and harmonies come in. At 10 minutes, the acoustic guitar plays alone again, and then is later joined by some light synths and electronic effects, but the music continues to remain minimal. Just before 14 minutes, a mellotron finally joins in, then a minute later, the rhythm and vocals finally kick in again, but it's not long before you wish that it hadn't. At 17 minutes, the bass brings in a mess of organs, synths and overdone effects for an ugly sound.

"Vuelvo a Caer" finishes up the album with a relatively short 5 minute track. The music is a piano led ballad with vocals coming in before the 2 minute mark.

I can't help but say that with this album, the heart is in the right place, and the intentions are great. It sounds like there are some great ideas here, but it also sound like there just wasn't enough time into the recording of the album. This makes the entire album seem clunky and the music often clashes and becomes quite annoying in many long passages. The guitars at times are just too abrasive and don't match what is going on with the rest of the music. Other times, the music meanders on too long. This album is a good case of the old saying "Less is more". The best parts of the album are the quieter sections, but they are also prone to meander a bit. There are definitely some opportunities in this album for greatness, but it never really delivers and is far away from the greatness it wants to achieve. Sorry, but only 2 stars for this one.

Having recently purchased the complete PSICOLORAMA "catalogue", and finding it not altogether displeasing, I added to my collection "The Garden and the Pool" the same day it was released (By the way, "Garden/Pool" follows "Home" chronologically, and its subtitle is grammatically incorrect) As it happened to be my birthday (hardly a cause for celebration anymore) I said to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice if I were completely blown away by a 'Psico' record?" Well... Happy Birthday to me! "The Garden and the Pool" (the "companion piece" to "Home") is a stunning slice of beauty and sublimity that leaves all earlier releases far behind it, gasping for air and praying to be heard again. By comparison, "Fear" (about which I made charitably kind remarks earlier) is only "average". I am very (very) impressed, indeed, by "The Garden and the Pool".

Every song is a shimmering gem, evoking a barrage of feelings and emotions: love, peace, tranquility... (I could go on) The absence of vocals and addition of violin to PSICOLORAMA'S tonal palette make "The Garden and the Pool" quite dreamy and immensely enjoyable. Standout songs include the subtly pulsating "Walking Along the Fence"; the melancholy "Requiem for a Family"; the pensive "Moving Leaves and the Trees" and - at fourteen minutes, the record's longest piece - the gently floating "The Kidnapped Life" (my personal favourite)

Dear readers, my economy of words ought not to controvert my unwavering ardour for PSICOLORAMA'S "magnum opus" (!) I eagerly await his next offering,

I am not the least bit hesitant in awarding "The Garden and the Pool" a much-deserved five star rating

*Addendum: PSICOLORAMA must have read my review, as he has just emailed me a new "record cover" correcting the aforementioned grammar flub. Viva España!