GEORGIUS: STRING THEORY

JERZY ANTCZAK is the principal figure behind long lived Polish neo prog group ALBION, and he has released 2 albums under the name GEORGIUS, classified as crossover for its slightly more "traditional" song structures and less meandering melodies. But this isn't easy listening. His first spacey release dating to 2014 was jarringly aggressive and haunting but immediately pleasurable.

Once again, in 2016, Antczak gathered some time Albion singer Anna Batko and drummer Rafał Paszcz for another fill in the gaps outing. This one is more like an ALBION album in that it submerges the listener after multiple listens, and is consistent as any release from the full band. It is somewhat more electronically oriented than all but the atypical "The Indefinite State of Matter" which preceded the solo outings, and Antczak handles most vocals in a Dave Gilmour style, as well as most other instrumentation including wildly imposing lead guitar solos. While the lyrical themes are typically downbeat - just check out the last two titles - it can't rival Floyd for sublime dispiritness, and is in fact quite uptempo in many aspects. The first 2 tracks are the longest and best, with "Little Ant" and "Pill" being almost balladic. "Precipice" is possibly the most chaotic and least appealing but still fully listenable.

With ALBION silent since 2018, I would have hoped that Georgius would have returned with a COVIDly angst riddled follow up but that has sadly not been the case, and I can't find any updates in 5 years, Let's hope he is just stringing us along. Whenever he or Albion are ready, I'll be there. Yet another 4 star release from this family of pros.