RATIONALIS IMPETUS (AS ARKITEKTURE)

South Korean prog rockers SUPERSTRING lost two members--including founding member Hanjoo Lee--but have gained a new violinist--Wooah Min--and have, thus, decided to rename themselves "Arkitekture."

1. "Impetus" (9:17) the sound rendering is quite cluttered and muddy and the song construction quite simplistic and straightforward for Avant/RIO--but not unlike NIL, UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA, or DAAL. My favorite part is the spacious almost-classical jazz passage occupying the seventh minute before bursting out with the sax solo. (17.5/20)

2. "Abnormal Reversible Reaction" (2:55) temple with Hammond organ and baritone sax open this one before the drummer goes OTSUBO HIROHIKO (Bondage Fruit) on us and the band injects some klezmer and DON PULLEN ideas into the music. A very odd and eclectic blending of sounds and styles. I might not like this so much were it not for being a sucker for Bondage Fruit. (8.875/10)

3. "Prayer for the Dying" (8:55) opens sounding SO MUCH like a blend of King Crimson, KBB, and Van Der Graaf Generator. Really good! An amazingly refreshing and yet familiar composition. The slightly muddled mid-range is the song's only flaw. (19.75/20)

4. "Dark Matter" (11:16) a cornucopia of prog sounds--some sounding Japanese, some sounding classic prog rock, many from the jazz-rock fusion front. Some of it just doesn't sound that good together. (Guess I'd never do well if 1970s CARAVAN, 1980s ROBERT FRIPP, 1990s COLLAGE, 2000s KBB, 2010s SEVEN IMPALE, and Woody Allen's coffeehouse Gershwin-tinged New Orleans Jazz band all got on stage together to jam.) (17.875/20)

5. "The Decay" (11:12) more Woody Allen?! Such straightforward, New Orleans-sounding marching music. But that was just the introduction: in the second minute we stop, get out of the car, and get into another, more modern (yet still classic) vehicle for some more smooth-driving jazz. Just a little too sloppy and chaotic for me. (17.5/20)

Total Time 43:35

90.28 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of eclectic progressive rock. With a little better sound engineering, tighter performances, and more discerning compositions, this could well have been a masterpiece.

P.S. This NOT Superstring; with a change of lineup the band has decided to rename themselves ARKITEKTURE.