•
Rating: So, a few years ago I tried my hand at publishing some reviews, then I stopped!!! If you allow me, I will talk at the end of this piece about why I stopped, doing it now might distract from my goal, which is to highlight a very interesting group and a "grandiose" artistic performance!!!
The band in question, led by Casey Crescenzo, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, is capable of producing "rock" albums with a complex structure, featuring songs rich in instrumental interweaving, tracks never banal and embellished with intense and poignant melodies.
Casey Crescenzo has been working for some time on a project composed of six concept albums, three of which have already been published. The quantity of instruments that make up the songs is surprising, I might, inadvertently omitting some, mention the harp, violins, cellos, banjo, in addition to more conventional instruments for a rock group. Among these first three acts, I recall an interesting review here on DeBaser of "Act II: The Meaning Of, & All Things Regarding Ms Leading" written by Addison.
While waiting for the other 3 acts, the band released in 2011, the subject of this review, which is in itself an ambitious project, if only for its dimension, being a publication of 9 EPs, each consisting of 4 songs.
The EPs are dedicated to the 9 colors of the spectrum, and for each color they tried to compose music that is related or inspired by it. One travels through atmospheres that range from the almost "hard progressive" but reinterpreted in a modern key of the Black EP, moving to the almost "ex-grunge" of the Red EP, being lulled by the more "easy" atmospheres through the electronic arrangements of the Indigo EP, and again immersing oneself in the romantic and dreamy Violet EP, and not satisfied with all this, one is pleasantly surprised by the pure rock of the Orange EP. There are also the Green and Blue EPs which draw on traditional American music but I don't feel like defining them as "country," at a first listen they may seem minor episodes, however, by giving them the right attention, they reveal themselves over time enriched by remarkable arrangements and very well-crafted melodies. I leave it to you to discover the White and Yellow EPs!!!
There are about 145 minutes of music that I currently can't do without, because beyond the already mentioned complexity, the magic of these songs lies in the performance quality, in Crescenzo's extremely powerful yet poignant voice, and in the melodies that are never banal and absolutely engaging. In my view, an essential rock work by a group that I fear is very underrated if not downright unknown. I avoided mentioning tracks, as even though I have favorites, I find that the strength of this experiment is best captured in its entirety.
I stopped writing reviews, even if this one contradicts that, because there are things that need to be done well, and writing reviews isn't one of those for me. However, in this specific case, I had to make an exception because I found it unjust that there was no information on De Baser about this fascinating project, and I found it unfair that you readers should be deprived of these melodies due to my lack of ability.
Listen to these EPs, give this great band a chance, then let me know...
Loading comments slowly
