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: : A Beginner's Mind : :
I must admit that what caught my attention
to this band was their name - Agent Cooper, what sold me on Agent Cooper
was their new release, "A Beginner's Mind." A pleasant surprise to say
the least, AC has been a frequent flyer in my car, mp3 player, home
entertainment system and laptop. I am very impressed with AC's ability
to produce high energy progressive rock without the pomp and
pretension. In an interview with keyboardist Eric Frampton, he stated
"We bring two things to the table, as far as I'm concerned: a
song-oriented approach that is a bit more accessible than some other
offerings out there and a sense of humor - we don't take ourselves too
seriously." And I think that is a perfect description for AC.
The CD begins with an aural festival of eastern sounds and atmosphere
that explodes into "East Indian Sun" and most powerful and mighty tune
with a wall of sound approach. Dissonant melody lines weave in and out
of power chords and Hammond organ/strings pad while atop the heated air
is vocalist/guitarist Doug Busbee clear-cut vocals belting out a vision
of confusion. Being a big fan of the now defunct band "Course of
Empire", AC has replaced them in my library as tracks like "Shallow
Disease" are like COE reincarnated. Heavy riffery and a pulsing chord
crunch provide the base for a dynamic chorus that washes and splashes
black angst on the shoreline. My favorite aspect of this piece is the
discordant organ flourishes that accent the action of the story.
"Timing Crucial" is enthusiastically all over the place with lighting
fast passages broken up by adept and tasteful instrumental interaction.
The main riff is by far one of the tastiest I have heard in a while.
The bass playing in "The Heat" is out of this world! Sean Delson keeps
a break-neck pace with the main theme of this tune and throws in a
little "slap" to make it interesting. The instrumental in the middle is
pure prog with unison patterns flying and a funky solo from Frampton to
give it levity. My favorite tune has to be "She Screams" with an
allusion to Styx with it's mini-moog arpeggios. This is a beautiful
tune with arsenal of instruments to make this tale of loss, rejection
and juxtaposition that much more significant. The CD ends with a somber
"You Know" - a tune that highlights the talents of the band that my not
be detected based on the style of the previous tracks.
I asked Frampton about touring and
unfortunately his response was "You've got to have major regional
followings built up to make the economics of touring worthwhile, and
this is Prog we're talking about, so..." Progressive Music Festival
developers - invite these guys to your bill and have the joint buzzing
with a new fresh energy that can't be ignored or sloughed off as pap.
Awesome stuff! By the way, Mr. Frampton chooses homogenized.
9/10
Reviewer - Jon Rice
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Agent Cooper
- Self Titled 1999
A Beginner's
Mind - 2005 |
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