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cHoclat FRoG On Detour to Shortcut Review by Gary Hill This is an intriguing release. Apparently this act is a duo made up of a father and son, but there are a couple guests on the disc. The music here is creative, varied and tough to pin down. This is decidedly progressive rock, but it might not appeal to purists who only like the 70s era of prog. This has some more challenging modern elements at play at times. It's quite a unique listening experience that never fails to impress. . This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024 Volume 2 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Track by Track Review

Spaceloop Driving, hard-edged and so classy, this opening instrumental features some smoking hot instrumental work. The guitar really takes us on some intriguing journeys here at times, but everyone delivers smoking hot performances There are things that make me think of King Crimson, but also elements that call to mind Frank Zappa.

Bomb alert The King Crimson thing is definitely on the menu here. This gets a little on the metallic side, too, though. I love the rubbery bass work here, particularly on the more stripped back sections. There are some vocals early here, but they are spoken and used more incidental elements. The actual singing comes in after the two-minute mark, and this continues evolving from there. This is dynamic, dramatic and so cool.

This is my wife There is some powerhouse synthesizer work as this gets underway with screaming hot prog jamming. The track quickly shifts and evolves. This is perhaps a little more tied to 1970s prog, but it still has plenty of modern harder rocking angles built into it, too. This instrumental is very strong.

Pollock Keyboard sounds get us going here. It drops to a bass line that provides an intriguing backdrop. They power up into more classic prog styled jamming from there. This works through some intriguing twists and turns. A more stripped back arrangement serves as the backdrop for more art rock styled vocals. The cut gets an almost punky prog arrangement further down the road really driving.

Bound by Instructions This is dramatic, hard rocking and fairly crazed. It's got plenty of art rock things at play along with a punkish ferocity. This is another powerhouse. It's got some interesting and unusual twists and turns and oddities built into it. There are parts of this that are almost metal. Yet, this is adventurous and prog oriented throughout. This might be the most ambitious and challenging thing here. It's not very predictable at all.

Pulp Stalking Trippy, open, sparse art rock concepts get us going here. They power it out from there to more rocking zones. It drops way down to a stripped back arrangement for the entrance of the vocals. This has punky angles at play. Yet, it's pure art rock. It's another ever-shifting and changing piece of music with a lot of intriguing elements at play.

On Detour to Shortcut Driving art music is on the menu here. This is energized and rocking. It has some killer jamming. There are a lot of King crimson like elements at play. An instrumental, this has so many cool twists and turns. It's also got plenty of intense energy. There is also a section late that makes me think of twisted chamber music.

Reboot This comes in mellow and builds very gradually. There is a chamber music meets early King Crimson vibe with some psychedelia in the mix, too. This closing instrumental is the shortest piece on the disc and has a definite grounding effect for the album.

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