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Mind the Journey

Color in the Gray Machine

Review by Gary Hill

I’m not sure if this really fits under “progressive rock.” It’s definitely progressive music, though. It often times lands near Radiohead and things like that. It’s also psychedelic, but in a very modern way. Whatever you call it, though, this is something that never gets tired or old. It’s also not really exactly like anything else you’ve ever heard.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Falling Asleep

This short cut (less than thirty seconds) is just a bit of sound effects.
Desserts
There is quite an interesting mix of sounds here. At points it’s very much electronic music. The vocal sections have more of a modern alternative rock meets prog sound kind of like Radiohead. Other things lean toward space music. This is a bit odd, but also cool.
Interdimensional Romance
Electronic sounds are combined with a modern prog element. Yet it’s also set with a bit of a DIY awkwardness to it. Somehow it’s a charm more than a deficit, though.
Dancing on the Sun
This is a fairly short instrumental. It’s a cool groove with dance music, electronic sounds and more merged into the mix.
Oneironaut (Interlude)
Another that’s not very long, this is sort of electronic space rock. It’s also dramatic and a little weird. There are some strange spoken vocals on it.
Rose Colored Glasses
Percussive and also very trippy, this is very much a pounding space rock kind of thing. It has modern electronic music in it, but I also make out things that are bit like a less Hawkwind-like classic space rock. There is some modern psychedelia here for sure, too.
Dream Demon
More hard rocking, I love the merging of old school psychedelia, modern prog and space rock on this. The weird dropped back section is cool, too. Then when it fires out into something like a psychedelic take on stoner rock, it’s awesome. This song is weird, but so tasty. It’s one of my favorites here. It gets pretty creepy when the processed voice is heard.
Atmintis (Pass the Haze)

Electronic music, psychedelia and modern prog merge on this. In a lot of ways, it makes me think of early Pink Floyd.

Egophoria
This has a tendency to be noisy and a bit dissonant. It’s still pretty trippy and cool, though. It’s part electronic music, part psychedelia and part modern prog.
Boats
In a lot of ways this is more straightforward. That said, there is enough modern prog and psychedelic weirdness to keep it from feeling mainstream. It definitely reminds me of bands like Radiohead in a lot of ways.
Noise Gate

I love the balance between mellower and more rocking stuff here. This has a definite trippy nature. It’s also got plenty of space sound built into it. The melodic movement in the middle of the track is particularly cool.

Delta Wave
Although this is similar to some of the rest, it doesn’t work as well as some of the other stuff here does to me. It’s pretty trippy, and has its moments, but it seems to get lost at times.
 
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