TADJ MAHALL GATES

If you ever wondered what it would be like to take the legacy of 70s Ange, provide it with some touches of Arachnoid plus some occasional dissonant chamber orchestrations, and finally, recycle it using an avant-garde pop rock filter, Aside Beside sure can demonstrate what an amazing result can be attained from that. But of course, neither you or I have wondered that in the first place, so the right thing to say is that this French band have managed to capture the main spirit of their country's theatrical 70s prog and translate it successfully into a contemporary rock language. Their "Tadj Mahall Gates" album is a concept album revolving around the subjects of mysticism, love and the afterlife in the context of this magnificent palace built in homage to a departed loved one. This band has two keyboardists (one of them also plays drum kit most of the time) and two guitarists (one of them is also the lead singer), but that's something that is precisely shown off. In the musical world of Aside Beside, interplaying happens to be not as important as elaborating textures and harmonies; what's more, at times, the presence of guest instruments such as oboe, horn, Celtic harp or flute is almost more featured than those played by the band members. But of course, the presence of mellotron, analog synthesizers, Hammond organ and piano can be noted as much as dearly appreciated by the prog fan who just won't get enough of those particular elements. There is something like an 'opera rock' feel to this album, although it evidently isn't one - Giardina sure knows how to use his moderately harsh vocal range in order to portray some dose of drama in his singing, but as it happens to the instrumental input, he never goes too far on that. This is basically an album of self-constraints, but nevertheless, the sonic colorfulness is patently easy to perceive. 'Nightmare', the sequence of tracks 5-7 and the somber two-part closure 'Fruits of Meaning' are, IMHO, the most accomplished moments in the album: all three of them manage to convey the band's innermost passion in is own terms. But you can also find a bunch softer pleasant songs, such as the beautiful 'Autumn' and the solemn 'Friends'. "Tadj Mahall Gates" is a very good album, and I hope that this is not the last from Aside Beside, since what they promise is really a lot: meanwhile, all I can personally do in the time being is review this work (which is what I've just been doing) and rate it with the appreciation that I think it deserves - 3.5 stars.