The Rich O’Brien Project – “Horizons” album review

The latest release from Bristol born bassist Richard O’Brien appears to have been perfectly timed to coincide with the change in weather that has occurred throughout the United Kingdom in March 2014. As the cold, gloomy winter nights gradually give way to spring, and the reappearance of light and colour lift the nations collective mood, an album such as “Horizons” is perfectly placed to provide the soundtrack to this reawakening.

 The influences that have shaped Richard musically are worn proudly on his sleeve, as can be heard on the opening piece “Co-Incidence”. Instantly memorable bass and brass lines provide a rock solid foundation for muscular soloing. Poignant keyboards tease their way through the mix giving the piece a mid 70’s soulful edge, which provides the perfect introduction and sets the stall out for the rest of this release. Not letting the joyful mood slip once, “Strawberry Kisses” bounces forward on deep and dirty bass lines which provides a firm foundation for some upliftingly sweltering guitar soloing. By the third track in the sun is beating down into your back garden and thoughts of cleaning down the barbecue are beginning to become a reality. As the first glass of wine is poured, “Juvenile” gives you no inclination that there is any reason to go back indoors. Tight arrangements again support fluid soloing, which sustain the momentum and keep the album optimistic and inspiring.

The vocal appearances on ”Promiscuous” and “Stay”, rather than disrupt the mood, add an additional weapon to the Richard O’Brien Arsenal of Soul, principally with the introduction of ‘seductiveness’ to the array of adjectives that could be applied to the music on “Horizons”. Slowing the pace down temporarily, “Ricardinho” could not be any more furtive and contented if it actively tried, and is complemented by some sumptuous keyboard and guitar playing that would not be out of place on a mid 70’s Miles Davis release. “Horizons Interlude” and “Nostalgia” provide tender fleeting vignettes compared to the cheerful agendas that make up the rest of this release, but are valuable additions that illustrate the flexibility of arrangement and playing. Tremendous music for the approaching summer months that will also help sustain the mood into subsequent years.

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Cave - "Threace" album review

Chicago band Cave, over their six-year history, have earned themselves a reputation as being the torchbearers of the contemporary “Krautrock” sound. Locked progressions and riffs that repeat just long enough to be irritating to hear, or fascinating to immerse into, depending upon the listeners’ proclivity. In many ways it would be too simplistic to make reference to such seminal, and oft cited names such as Can, Faust, Neu and Amon Duul. Reference has also been made to the similarities between their style of playing and bands such asStereolab. Sadly comparisons such as this can a hindrance in putting contemporary music such as this into context. Far from harking back to a golden era of repletion in music, Cave brings motorik right up to date.

The five tracks that make up “Threace” each clock in at around the nine or ten minute mark, and palpably push the listeners perception of what may be possible with repetition. The compositions themselves are in no way particularly complex or angular in structure in the way that some “post rock” outfits take on the hypnotic. ‘Sweaty Fingers’ for example is laden with a funky groove, which owes as much to early 1970’s Miles Davis and the relentless momentum of “Rite” by Julian Cope, as it does to the German experimental scene. The repeating motifs genuinely get deep inside the listeners psyche, as sparse guitar and bass lines scratch away for four or five minutes. Again, depending upon the listeners’ point of view, this repetition is absurd, or a deeply spiritual experience.

‘Silver Headband’ quickly puts its’ cards on the table and lets the listener know that what you will be hearing here is unadulterated repetition, with no obvious change in dynamic and no significant layering of sound. Here we have music that is trying its hardest to be interesting and different, but music which is giving the listener space to immerse themselves and allowing them permission to indulge. It could be argued that compositions such as ‘Arrows Myth’ and ‘Shiaawka’, with their suggestion of mystical jazz-rock, do benefit from, and become more accessible because of, layers of instrumentation, which bring to mind the mid-1970’s jazz-rock of Frank Zappa on albums such as “The Grand Wazoo”…

Read the full review here…