Artists | Issues | CD Reviews | Interviews | Concert Reviews | DVD/Video Reviews | Book Reviews | Who We Are | Staff | Home
 

Big Dust

Big Dust

Review by Gary Hill

This is definitely not progressive rock in the traditional sense of the word. However, it is both progressive music and modern prog. It’s probably most closely related to something like Radiohead, but there are other things at play here, too. There isn’t a huge change from track to track, but the disc never feels redundant. Overall, this is a solid release for those who like the new school of prog rock.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
This Song

Electronics bring this into being. It works out to an energetic jam from there. It has a bit of a modern pop element, but also some classic proggy sound and modern prog. This piece gets layers of almost dark things built into it.

Anima
There is definitely more of a rocking edge to this. Pieces of world music are included. It also leans toward techno. Yet, it’s still rooted in something akin to modern prog rock. The guitar soloing over the top brings both world music and hard rock to the table.
If I Were You
With a real hard edge to it, this definitely makes me think of Radiohead. The guitar solo segment adds  a bit of Americana.
Talk To Me
The electronics that start this feel a bit like Kraftwerk to me. The cut works out from there into a mellow motif with that still set into it. That movement gets alternated with a more hard rocking and powered up segment.
Invasion
To me this feels a bit like a cross between Radiohead and Depeche Mode. Some of the guitar on this brings some of the hardest rocking stuff to it. Yet, in some ways this is the most purely prog thing here.
Leitmotif
Percussive and very industrial in nature, this rocker is great stuff. It has a bit of a trippy, spacey element to it, but is loud and bombastic.
Snowball
A mellower and more melodic number, this again makes me think of Radiohead.
Sister
This extended number (just over nine-minutes in length) is very much a space rock meets modern electronic prog styled piece. It has some of the most effective and powerful musical moments of the whole disc. 
The Shore
There are some really dramatic harder edged bits here. This is a powerful piece with some great contrasts. In fact, it’s one of my favorites of the whole set, really. There are some noisy electronic parts to it, particularly the closing section.
 
Return
 
Google

   Creative Commons License
   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

    © 2024 Music Street Journal                                                                           Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com