ANTI-MATTER POETRY

A very interesting and different --almost retro-80s--production whose music pleasantly updates and enriches some of the more sophisticated technologically-driven 'pop prog' from the Continent the 80s (PETER SCHILLING, KRAFTWERK, NENA, FALCO come immediately to mind. The DAVID BOWIE/PETER MURPHY-like voice and vocal presentation also does much to add to the charm of this music, but, on its own, this well-crafted and performed CD is a very nice find. The first three songs are all outstanding with "Phamtom Pain Scars" (10/10) expertly weaving so many racing instrumental melodies behind (or perhaps, in front of) the least- Bowie-sounding vocal on the album that I feel I'm hearing the counterpoint of a symphony or big band. The mood-setting opener "The Wasted Lands" (9/10) has many PINK FLOYD qualities to it--TV samples, lead guitar, mood. "Hairdressers Symphony" (9/10) is definitely straight out of the 1980s PETER MURPHY catalog--musically and vocally. Love the domineering low end of this song! The fourth song, "I Saved the World" (7/10) again sounds like the way PETER MURPHY could almost go ambient, but ends up sounding most like a good MOBY song. Song five, the almost fifteen minute "The Rear View Mirror Suite" covers a lot of prog territory using a lot of very subtle instrumentation and musics. The sixth and last song on this 65 minute journey keeps up the very high compositional, melodic, and performance standard of the rest though also hovers mostly in the side of more delicate music, as do the last two. Overall, a very, very enjoyable journey that never failed to keep my attention and which draws me back in as soon as I hear a few chords of any of its songs. Definitely a musican to watch--though no one whould be disappointed if they start here. Excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you're into 'progress' in the world of melodic progressive music.