| Track by Track Review
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Prelude
This is a short piano based introductory piece that gradually shifts to weirdness. For some reason I'm reminded of Radiohead's "Creep" just a bit on this. |
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Hypocrites
The cut fires out from the last one, seeming to coalesce into some cool space rock meets melodic progressive rock. This is fast paced and so tasty. I can hear things that make me think of acts ranging from Yes to Pink Floyd to Dream Theater. This has a lot of shifts and changes, but overall seems a fairly straight line. It gets very intense as it moves forward. |
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Static
Now, this melodic number really makes me think of Pink Floyd a lot. It calls to mind the David Gilmour led period of that band. Perhaps this even feels a bit like Gilmour's solo work. I love this song. It's just so cool. I think making this the title track was a great choice. It's definitely one of the best numbers here. |
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Reckless
Starting with an acoustic guitar based arrangement, this isn't a ballad. It's more of a rocker with some jazz in the mix. It's fast paced and energized. The tilt is a bit sideways of mainstream, but it still manages to be catchy. This is a nice bit of variety and an oddly effective piece. It has some cool proggy elements over the top later. An instrumental segment further down the road really makes me think of King Crimson quite a bit. |
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Chain Reaction
Another melodic rocker, this has some folk rock in the mix. It powers out into a more intense sound as it develops. This has some of that David Gilmour element, too, but it also reminds me of modern Marillion to some degree. I like the little guitar fills, but it's the vocal hooks that really shine here. |
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Trust
Combine the Beatles with Pink Floyd and you might have something very similar to this song. This is a sad song. It has some great textures and gets rather intense. |
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Quiet Storm
Weird sounds with some spoken words over the top at the start, the vocals become a bit more sung as it continues. This definitely has references to Pink Floyd. It's more textural than anything else. Odd soundtrack like elements emerge later to bring a dark and ominous tone to it. This is just over two minutes long and segues into the next piece. |
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Dirty Soap Box
Coming out of the previous number, this gradually builds toward a rocking jam. There is a lot of that Pink Floyd element here. There is also some killer guitar work later in the piece. The piece gets pretty crazed later. |
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The Truth Behind
Dark and powerful, this is another with a lot of Pink Floyd built into it. Still, I can make out Beatles, Marillion and more in the mix here. This is a powerful track that's one of the strongest here. This builds out to a powerhouse arrangement as it works toward the closing. It drops way down to just keyboards to segue into the next number. |
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Right Back to the Start
Keyboard elements from the previous track start this number. It works to prog Beatles-like sound for the vocal segment. This is a short piece that works quite well. |
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Statistic
This comes out of the previous track and turns into a killer prog rock jam. There is some great synthesizer work over the top of it. |
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Millennium Man
Almost metal in style, this makes me think of Dire Straits in some ways. This is screaming hot. |
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State of Innocence
A mellower cut, this is another that seems to channel Pink Floyd. It's another particularly strong piece, too. I love the evocative sounds here. This is definitely one of my favorites here. I love the cello that shows up later on this track and how it guides the cut in some new directions. |
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The Carnival of Modern Life
At almost seventeen minutes of music, this is the epic of the set. It comes in with a powerhouse hard-edged jam. It drops for a weird carnival barker bit. There are definitely elements of Pink Floyd on the sung parts that come in during that section. The changes are almost more King Crimson-like in some ways. There is a definite fusion element here. This works forward to more hard rocking stuff as it continues. I love the building guitar section around the five and a half minute mark. Eventually it evolves to another melodic Pink Floyd styled movement. It works to some harder rocking stuff before coming to a resolution after the eleven minute mark. A mellower, atmospheric motif rises up from there, almost seeming to tie it into the opening section. Another melodic Floyd-like vocal section eventually comes into being. There is some scorching guitar soloing |
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