: : Spiritual Vertigo : :
Have you ever
put on a piece of music and instantly felt at peace with the sound
coming from your speakers? Well for this reviewer that was the
immediate and first impression I got from the first listen on.
The music on
this CD is so well written and designed. This is progressive music and
in the truest sense. It can stand completely on its own regardless of
who the listener is.
There is a
spiritual feeling about each song. Sonus Umbra invokes a feeling around
the listener much like a warm wool blanket as you sit in front of a
roaring fire after a long day of working (or playing) out in a cold
winter day, the same feeling of lying in a cooling waterfall in the heat
of summer.
The listener is
not bombarded with excessive anything on this CD. That said, the
musical abilities of each player stand out as if to say “We are here to
play, may we play just for you?”
The opening
track “Bone Machine” sets the tone for this entire CD. It is “jazzy”
little number that hints at both lyrical and musical things to come.
The drum line on this track is so cool; I just love the snare sound Jeff
Laramee uses on this song.
The band then
moves you into a slow and mournful song “Fool’s Arcadia”. A slowly
creeping song that showcases Andres Aullet’s enchanting voice. A song
of depth and yet of apparent loss. Strong song that has much hidden
meaning I’m sure.
The tempo is
picked up somewhat on “Man of Anger and Light” but not to a point that
destroys the soundscape already set in place by the earlier songs. In
this track the Mr. Nasser’s acoustic guitar playing is really up front
and helps meld the song into the listeners’ heart and mind.
By
the time we get to Fascinoma we really get to hear Sonus Umbra step
out. An instrumental song that is simply cool. A nice rocking back
beat that is completed with both guitar and piano as book ends of the
song. This song truly shows off the musical abilities of all involved
in Sonus Umbra.
And
then we have Amnesia Junkies part 1 and part 2. Sonus Umbra puts on
their political hat and spills the beans on the intrinsic evils of the
right wing. Tax cuts for the rich, big surprise the idiot wins, better
dead than red, diehard bigotry in their heads, 19th Century
Fox spreads the virus, sift through the ashes of the free….. And to
think this was recorded before the last election. So the point of the
song is to say that somehow we Americans simply “forget” and the
majority votes against their own self interest. Part 2 has the song
morph into a discussion and commentary about the abuse and genocide
forced upon our Israeli brothers and sisters while posing the question
“How could you live through the 6 million slaughtered and still feed the
hate in Palestine”. I get chills each time I listen to these two
songs.
In
the end this CD is strong on all levels. Never “hard rocking” but never
sleepily boring. All songs have a lyrical content that had this
reviewer reading each and every word in the liner notes. Musically each
song is well paced and a joy to listen to.
These people wear their causes and their hearts on their sleeves. It’s
about time some one did.
Rating: 8 of 10
Reviewed By: Stephen Ellis
: : Visit the
Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
laughter in the dark - 1998
Snapshots From Limbo -
2000
Spiritual Virtigo - 2003 |
