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Odder Than 3

Things Out of Place

Review by Gary Hill
I liked this outfit the first time I heard them. This new disc just confirms that connection. These guys should appeal to fans of both modern and classic progressive rock, but their sound is unique and original.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012  Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Africa Distance
Pounding in with some accessible jamming, this is very much a modern progressive rock tune with some great atmosphere. It has links to old school prog, but is much more closely tied to the modern variety. It drops back around the minute and a half mark to a mellow, atmospheric progressive rock sound. It grows out from there in dramatic ways. Then it fires out to a jam that seems to combine classic prog with more modern sounds and even some jam band music.
Insuccesses
There’s almost a 1980s feeling to this in some ways, yet it also manages to combine the modern and older progressive rock sounds heard on the opener. The guitar drives things more here than it did on the previous piece. After a time it drops to a bass controlled section, but as the guitar fires up from there, the sounds from the first part of the piece are combined with something not that far removed from Rush. They bring it back to the song proper later.
Brian Eno
With a killer rock groove, this is an awesome piece of music. The rhythm section is rubbery and oh so cool. The keyboards add lush layers of sound to the number. It all works together for one of the coolest, if perhaps less proggy, numbers on the set.
Casket We Build
Starting mellow and moody, this moves out after a time into another rocking jam that’s got lots of cool texture built into it. There is a metallic crunch to this, but it really feels more like space rock. There’s some great jamming and some awesome musical textures on this piece. It gets pretty heavy, but definitely in more of a proggy way than a metallic one. It shifts towards more purely melodic music at points, too.
Computer Science
There is definitely more of that 1980s vibe on this cut. It’s got a rocking sort of guitar sound that’s still suitably stripped back. It has a great groove and I like this number a lot. The keyboards lend a lot over the top. This is dramatic, theatric and, oh so cool. It gets a bit heavier later, but more like 1980s rock heavy than a metal heavy.
Odder
Starting fairly mellow and tentative this powers out to a smoking hot prog meets space and jam music excursion later. There are even some hints of surf music in the midst of it. Further down the musical road it drops way down to a mellow section where the guitar sort of explores textures and melodies. As it powers back up that surf motif is certainly on display along with more modern progressive rock and even some jazz.
 
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