PERFECT BEINGS

"perfect_beings" is the debut full-length studio album by US progressive rock act Perfect Beings. The album was released through My Sonic Temple in February 2014. My Sonic Temple is also the name of guitarist Johannes Luley´s recording studio in Los Angeles, so I guess "perfect_beings" qualifies as an independent release. Perfect Beings was founded by Johannes Luley and lead vocalist Ryan Hurtgen. The two later recruited drummer Dicki Fliszar, bassist Chris Tristram, and keyboard player Jesse Nason to complete the lineup. Some of the guys in the band have played with some pretty prolific artists like Bruce Dickinson and Slash and it´s obvious from the get go, that these guys are professionals. Skilled songwriters and skilled musicians.

The lyrics and imagery to "perfect_beings" are loosely based on the 2013 sci-fi novel "Tj and Tosc" by Suhail Rafidi. The band felt that the books post-apocalyptic sci-fi theme suited their music perfectly.

The music on "perfect_beings" is a contemporary version of progressive rock. It features both complex progressive sections, melodic atmospheric sections, some psychadelic tinged sections, a slight jazz touch in some sections, and more mainstream oriented catchy sections too. It´s a pretty eclectic take on the style, and while Perfect Beings are not allergic to inspiration from the 70´s greats of the progressive rock genre, this album generally sounds very little like a retro progressive rock release. Instead we´re met with a fresh take on how to play progressive rock, that´s easy to listen to and quite memorable too, but not devoid of progressive rock complexity. If I had to make a reference it would be to the Brits in Frost*. More in approach than in sound and overall style though. Perfect Beings are for example far more organic sounding. A band like Porcupine Tree is also a valid reference.

The material are varied, quite intriguing, and "perfect_beings" overall features a natural dynamic flow. While the songwriting is definitely one of the album´s greatest assets, the musicianship and the organic sound production are also assets that make "perfect_beings" a great listening experience. It´s an album that reeks high class in all departments.

Ryan Hurtgen doesn´t have the most distinct sounding voice, but he is a skilled singer with a pleasant delivery. His melody lines are memorable and his harmonies spot on. There´s a Beatlesque sound to some of those harmonies and melodies (especially in the opening track "The Canyon Hill"), that´s soothing to the ears, but as with the rest of the music the vocal department is pretty varied (check out the robotic vocoder vocal part on "Bees and Wasps" for an example of that).

Some eclectic progressive rock releases are all over the place and lack the incredibly important stylistic consistency that´s the glue which binds an album together and presents it as a release with flow. Thankfully that´s not the case with "perfect_beings" which, while it is eclectic and challenging for the listener, doesn´t stick out in every direction. You are never in doubt that it´s the same band playing, and as mentioned above the concept lyrics and the way the tracklist is constructed provide the album with a nice organic flow. It´s an album designed to give the listener a pleasant listening experience. It´s a debut album that´s too professional and of too high quality to just be called promising, so I´ll go as far as to call it excellent. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.