BONDAGE FRUIT VI

As usual this one sounds different from their past releases, although the closest one to this would be their third. The drumming is not as heavy on this one though, and they do bring in a some new styles of music. It's those new sounds that i'm not a fan of really, like the bluesy guitar on "Locomotive" or the blue-grass sounds on the fast paced "I/O". And this is a long album at almost 70 minutes.

It opens with "Three Voices" as percussion leads the way as different sounds come and go like cymbals, drums and violin. The percussion calms down 2 1/2 minutes in as some cool sounding vibraphone arrives.Guitar sounds and then some very deep bass comes in. Guitar and violin play some aggressive melodies over this soundscape.The guitar 10 minutes in is fabulous. Some relentless violin follows. I really like this song as there is so much going on. Great sound. It ends with synths. "Rath" opens with deep bass sounds as guitar, percussion,vibraphone and violin follow. Some mid-eastern sounds too. Lots of intricate sounds. A change after 5 minutes as percussion only is heard, joined then by bass, synths and guitar sounds. "Locomotive" features bluesy guitar melodies that are joined by violin, bass and percussion. Vibraphone after 2 minutes, and I especially like the vibraphone after 4 minutes. Not a big fan of this one, especially the guitar style.

"Dear Gazelle" is much better. It opens with gentle vibraphone that gets louder. Guitar, drums and violin follow. Some throbbing bass after 2 1/2 minutes as violin leads the way. Some scorching melodies as the vibraphone provides a nice accompanying sound. Drums continue to be played relentlesly. The guitar and violin are fighting for prominance. Nice. Great tune. "The Train" is my favourite track on here. It opens with some wonderful vibraphone before light drums and gentle guitar come in. A pastoral sound is the result. The guitar is slowly getting more aggressive, it's building steam like a train.Violin and bass are added. We are blessed with some blistering melodies that end abruptly. A 4 minute calm of violin, bass, guitar, percussion and vibraphone follows (they all come and go) as the soundscape rebuilds slowly again.Then 10 minutes in we get more scorching guitar. "Something Green" is a laid back tune that opens with acoustic guitar playing solo for a minute before violin and vibraphone join in. Percussion and violin after 2 minutes. Some fat bass follows. It's ok. "I/O" is an uptempo tune that does sound like bluegrass. Violin, guitar and drums are quickly played. A vibraphone solo after 2 1/2 minutes is a highlight.

Their first album is still my favourite, followed by the second and then third. This is still easily a 4 star album though, with "Three Voices" , "Rath" , "Dear Gazelle" and "The Train" being amazing tunes, and those 4 songs make up over 45 minutes of music alone.