DARK MATTERS

This album sounds really British, not like recorded by a nordic band - not at all. Except the dark melancholic vibe maybe, which is quite typical for such teams though. Well, what really is conspicious ... the band name, so much the more the music, appears in no way mainstream, which implies that they are convinced with a special niche by nature, but what a comfortable one! Here we have an unconventional, rather eclectic progressive rock production, while covering several styles, for instance symphonic keys, a cool jazzy saxophone and a proper psychedelic touch due to synths and guitars similar to Jeff Hamel's project Majestic for example.

Now this should be handled like an epic, hopping around from one track to the other is strictly forbidden ... eh, okay, at least it's not recommended ... because this simply will ruin the flow, the atmosphere. Wonderful expressive vocals (predominantly female) are to state, what reminds me of the Frequency Drift approach a bit. Seemingly presented as a concept album, which is related to the human beings' dark and mysterious matters, this is a secret, a mystery, may not start a fire initially, but really thrives after several listening sessions. Three songs out of five are clocking way more than ten minutes, are guaranteeing empathy, variety. And that's what I like, they deliberately take the time to let the music evolve, yeah!

You see, I consequently omit to emphasize any song in particular. Katja Sirki''s voice, opera trained I'm sure, plays an important role here The groovy rocking parts are dominated by heavily riffing and psychedelic touched guitars including solos. The rhythm branch leads the band through the (partially) complex compositions with ease as well as power. where the keyboard work is offered with diversitiy and inspiration. Some rare dissonant impressions are bringing them close to King Crimson or Gentle Giant within. 'Dark Matters' is something to appreciate, to sum it up - definitely a highlight in 2014 - 4.5 stars.