Odawas
Raven And The White Night

"Raven And The White Night," Odawas, April 2007.

Album of the month on Onda Rock, why not give it a listen? A new album, but with many elements that take us back in time.

The recurring elements in this album are indeed the surreal atmospheres that so much remind us of the "Pink Floyd" psychedelic style. The first track already, with its long loops and almost "detached from reality" feel, gives us an idea of what the album will be like. After this brief introduction, a classical guitar, very recurring throughout the album, accompanies the two voices. If it weren't for the sudden gusts of wind that bring us back to the first track, we hear this guitar riff, and two very faint and delicate voices, almost acting as a chorus, framing the equally delicate arpeggio.

Track number 3: once again the classical guitar introduces us to a slightly more "active" track than the first one, yet still very meditative and almost a continuation of the previous. Meditative: this might be the first adjective that best describes the album. There are no sudden rhythm changes, or Rock'n Roll solos.

This CD by Odawas (whom I had never heard before), limits itself to be an album with its evident reference points, its pillars, but it doesn't bore and manages to "give its own." "Raven And The White Night," indeed, does not have grand ambitions, but only seeks to make the listener think. As an album, it can be worthily linked to the psychedelic genre, certainly not at the level of Pink Floyd or Genesis, but definitely psychedelic. With an eye on Gilmour and company, Odawas recreate monotonous and sweet rhythms. Meanwhile, the album continues, and what I think are the best songs (When God Was a Wicked Kid, and Getting To Another Plan) have finished some time ago. Odawas, in fact, try to shorten the length of the songs, which would otherwise be monotonous and almost boring. There aren't many songs (9), but they manage to captivate the listener. As it progresses, I hear more and more Pink Floyd songs in the background, and from track to track, we have reached the end.

In conclusion, "Raven And The White Night," is one of those albums that prove to us that neither Rock, nor psychedelic Rock (as in this case), are dead. Certainly scaled down in many respects, not like it used to be, Rock, THE musical genre, continues and will continue to make many people fall in love with music.

A beautiful album, not demanding and easy to listen to.