THAT'S WHAT'S UP

The third and most recent Consider the Source album sounds even more math-rocky than the last although there seems to be a lot less sampling and more actual playing of instruments, especially guitar (lots of guitar), bass (lots of bass) and drums (lots of drums). I assume Gabriel Marin is still playing his fretless guitar which is still pretty pretentious but I have to concede also very impressive considering he manages to make it sound easy. He does seem to have shelved the chaturangui though (aka Indian Rickenbacker) which is kind of too bad because I thought that instrument gave the band's music a slightly folksy feel and definitely added an international flavor to the band's sound.

Once again these are all instrumentals since apparently nobody in the band can sing, or maybe they just aren't interested in words. They don't say a hell of a lot on their website either so maybe it's the latter.

The songs tend toward a little more length here than with their prior work as well, with only "I Never Played a Jewel Thief" coming in under seven minutes. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing since the comparative lack of percussion and various taped sounds makes the music sound a bit more pedestrian than the stuff on 'Are You Watching Cloesly?', their 2007 studio release. The group seems to be aiming for more of a guitar arpeggio with weird timings sort of thing this time around, and although the guitar sounds mostly the same but a little heavier, the arrangements are less eclectic with a few exceptions such as the mystical "No Easy Answer" and truly weird riffs and tempo of "How am I not Myself" which includes a bit of guitar work that sounds all the world like it was passed through Peter Frampton's talk box. Pretty cool actually.

"Ol' Chomper" has some riffs that remind me alternately of Dream Theater and Steve Howe (try and reconcile that in your brain!), while "Complex Complex" doesn't sound like it is but knowing the guy playing guitar doesn't have any frets to help him with the non-stop chord changes makes me think it was a bit tougher to pull off than it sounds.

And the closing "The H is O" comes off as a compilation of everything else on the album including wailing guitar and staccato, frenzied drum with a bass line that borders on psychotic. The song starts out a bit slow but by the end I'm thinking something akin to 'Bolero' with amps. Very wickedly tight.

This isn't really my kind of music to tell the truth, and in a lot of ways I preferred the more eclectic and earthy stuff the band cranked out on their second album. But prog fans of all stripes (including metalheads) should find this one appealing, and for that the band deserves a high three stars with at least some consideration for four. Well recommended.

peace