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Unquiet Music Ltd MEMEmusic Review by Gary Hill As unique as the last album from Unquiet Music Ltd. was, I think this is even more "out there." Yet, it's strangely compelling. That album was much more instrumental. This one has more of a vocal component, but it's an unusual one at that. The main person behind this project is JP Rossi. However, guests include several people who should be familiar to MSJ readers - Adrian Benavides. Markus Reuter and Pat Mastelotto. There are quite a few other people participating here, but those are the names that stuck out to me. As "out of the box" as this is, it's also largely compelling. It's art rock for certain, and progressive in the way that it does progress music. It should be noted that most of these songs land around eight or nine minutes or more in length. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review

Meme Ambient sounds, much like nature, bring this in. The cut turns trippier as it builds upward and gets more musical things added to the mix. While musical, this is spacey and weird. Eventually the music peaks and ends. Then weird vocals as some kind of tone poem come in. They are more like musical instruments than voices, each delivering one word at a time. This builds upward with multiple layers of vocals eventually working together. This is strange, but so compelling. Some musical instruments are added to this mix of sounds further down the road. White noise takes over at the end of the piece and segues it into the next one.

I Succumb The noise from the last track brings this into being. Weird keyboard textures eventually rise up and take command, creating something that feels a little bit like some kind of twisted movie or video game soundtrack music. This works through a number of shifts and turns. The vocals seem more traditional on this, but the cut has a very creative, artsy sort of take on more of an electronic pop concept. It is decidedly odd, but somehow more grounded and mainstream than the opener was. This gradually works toward more driving rocking concepts further down the road. It's still electronic and strange, but there are some space rock sort of angles to this at times. The strange guitar soloing that emerges later lends an almost King Crimson angle.

Towards The Edge The keyboard sounds on this are more mainstream as the number gets going. It shifts toward strange spacey territory as it continues. Waves of voices join as this continues to grow and get more driving. The non-lyrical vocals take up a bigger part of the arrangement as it continues. There are some rather fusion-like vocals further down the road, and this really gets into some seriously funky, jazzy zones as it continues. It's definitely among the most mainstream music here. It's really rocking at times, too. It does get into weirder zones further down the road, though. That freaky stuff takes over and runs it into the next piece.

Lament Weird musical elements and trippy angles are on the menu here. At times this makes me think of early Pink Floyd. This piece is largely on the ambient side. It has non-lyrical vocals that feel chorale. There are parts of this that call to mind the "2001: A Space Odyssey" soundtrack.

Commuting Communion Drumming along with freaky electronics is on display as this cut gets going. The cut evolves and grows from there. It has a definite moody, electronic art rock vibe to it. The percussion arrangement remains pretty involved. This gets quite prog oriented as it works into instrumental directions later. It's another point that has some definite King Crimson aspects. This keeps growing and evolving. The vocal arrangement gets unusual at times.

Sometimes Love Weird musical elements of the rather mellow variety get this going. It drops to nearly acapella zones for the entrance of the vocals. The musical aspect grows on this. The track has a real moody electronic prog meets art music vibe. It drops to sounds like a busy park. Classical music elements take over as that element continues. The piece gets stranger further down the road.

I Do Remember The Feeling A driving, bassy, brass sort of sound brings this in. As the track continues I'm reminded of a jazzy Residents sort of approach. This builds outward. There is some killer bass work as it continues. The vocal arrangement is unique. The track builds in some intriguing ways. It's quite a driving number. This gets a lot more mainstream as it builds outward. It has a real jazz rock sort of vibe with some fairly catchy hooks late. The jamming near the end gets very powerful and crazed. It drifts to less organized as it continues toward the end. The bass gets a solo as the outro, and that segues into the next number.

Nemo Point The bass that closed the last piece gets this one going. They expand on that, creating a killer jam from it. It develops as more traditional progressive rock. This is definitely one of the most mainstream things here. It's also one of my favorites. It has great energy and a lot of killer music.

Music (Is The Way Out) Built on multiple layers of vocals, this gets underway in an acapella manner. That holds it for a time before instruments join, and the cut begins to evolve from there. This remains a vocal heavy piece. It seems to end, but then we get a movement based on non-lyrical vocals and organ. That section serves to end the track. At just a little over three-and-a-half minutes of music, this is the shortest track by far of the album proper.

Tom's Wrong (Bonus Track) This track has a more driving sound to it. This is another that definitely makes me think of The Residents. Some of the vocals have a sort of whispered element at play. It works through a number of different sections along the road.

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