THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE

This was the first official release from Georgia's own VOLARE in 1997, although "Memoirs" which followed two years later actually contains the original recording they did on cassette from 1996. Confused yet? I do prefer "Memoirs" but you can't go wrong with either recording in my opinion. Both are jazzy affairs and the bass player also adds sax. I was surprised at the heaviness that pops up once in a while and the upfront guitar. It's a pretty cool list of instruments that the keyboardist plays including Fender Rhodes, Yamaha CS-15, Roland Juno-6, Mini-Moog, Alesis, Korg, Roland Synths, Piano, Organ and Mellotron. They thank Ken Golden who's label released this album plus Ken was the Executive Producer. Steve F. is thanked along with Producers Fred Schendel and Steve Babb and FRENCH TV's John Robinson among others.

"Caught In A Combine" opens with rather raw sounding guitar as the drums and piano join in. Some nice upfront bass as well. It settles into a jazzy mode before a minute although the guitar continues to solo over top. Synths come and go and then the guitar stops as the drums and piano lead the way 2 1/2 minutes in. It turns heavy after 3 minutes as the guitar returns. "Abcircus" opens with some killer synths as the guitar, drums and more join in. Nasty stuff that is contrasted with a mellow piano/ bass section. Beautiful sound 2 1/2 minutes in with those melancholic synths. Love the bass before 4 minutes then those melancholic synths return. We keep getting teased with heavy outbreaks.

"Blitz" opens with bass, piano, cymbals and mellotron as some relaxed guitar joins in. I like the depth of sound here as the guitar continues to solo. The guitar stops after 2 minutes then the tempo picks up as the guitar returns. I like this as we get synths as well before the organ replaces the synths. A calm with piano only before 4 1/2 minutes then it starts to build. Some aggressive guitar after 5 1/2 minutes and he will light it up. Keyboards lead before 7 minutes. Great sound! Mellotron is back after 8 minutes.

"One Minute Of thought..." has intricate guitar along with sparse piano and drums. A pastoral track for the most part. "Midnight Clear" opens with sounds droning as bass and cymbals join in. I'm imagining driving in the city at night for some reason here. The sax starts to solo tastefully over top then the tempo picks up. "...In Two Seconds Of Time..." has a mellow beginning but it starts to build some before a minute. A beat and intricate guitar join in then it becomes more powerful when the synths join in. Kicking some ass 3 1/2 minutes in until a calm arrives a minute later. The contrasts continue. "Vespers" opens with cymbals, intricate guitar and some atmosphere. It picks up before 2 minutes as synths join in. They will come and go but the piano and drums stand out during this section. It settles down again as contrasts continue.

"...(In Complete, Broken, And Abstract)" is laid back until it kicks into gear before 2 minutes. Sax starts to play over top, guitar too. It's surprisingly heavy 2 1/2 minutes in. Dissonant sax follows. "Cropcircles" is uptempo with plenty of guitar. A calm after 1 1/2 minutes but it's brief as synths and organ replace the guitar. Another calm follows with piano and drums as contrasts continue. "Black And White" opens with picked guitar, bass and drums until we get some aggressive guitar before 1 1/2 minutes as it all turns powerful. Synths to the fore at 2 1/2 minutes as it stays intense. The tempo picks up before 4 minutes as piano ad drums stand out to the end.

There's not much about this release that makes me think of Canterbury but it's a solid album that is a slight step down from "Memoirs" in my opinion. Very enjoyable.