When your disc has a running time of 55 minutes and the first song takes up over a fourth of that, coming in at under 20 minutes long, your band is just blatantly flaunting its pretentiousness. So it goes with Karmakanic's
"Who's the Boss in the Factory" that does indeed have the balls to pull off the ridiculously lengthy
"Send a Message From the Heart", with its nearly neverending running time and pop it right as the brazen beginning to the album. There is plenty of talent here backing this unwieldy disc, mainly the bassist Jonas
Reingold and vocalist Goran Edman. Edman turns in a marvellous vocal performance, showing us his edgy, quirky side that was so prevalent in his works with Glory.
Reingold is the major creator of the music and this is pretty much his vision, though.
The opener is a grand, sprawling piece that mines the rich history of dozens of prog rock bands and slaps it all together with the duct tape of a recurring melodic theme. You'll hear bits of 1970s Rush, pop progressive of early Genesis, wandering passages like
The Flower Kings, the clever melodic twists of
Kansas and Styx, a British edge as seen with The Police. It's a swirling hodgepodge of styles, ideas and tons of instrumental sections, all which carry it to its upbeat conclusion. Overwhelming the senses, it turns on a dime from one stage to another, gaining momentum, losing it, becoming entranced with itself and then breaking free into another landscape.
With
"Send a Message from the Heart" being long enough to deserve its own separate review, the rest of the disc seems almost overshadowed.
"Let in Hollywood" is short and sweet, the very opposite of the previous track. Acoustic and bass driving, its offbeat and incredibly catchy, and Goran's voice giving it a much needed personality. Surprisingly tough guitars and warbling
Deep Purple inspired organ, open up the backend of the track for a 70s flashback.
"Who's The Boss in the Factory" is the other big overwrought epic. Slow, crawling, it skitters across the skin like spiders sinking their little creepy legs into your flesh. Slow, plodding and long winded, it's surprisingly enjoyable despite all the forced pompousness. Its saving grace is Edman, whom manages to plow through the track in his cynical, soul shrinking voice. He is truly a brilliant and gifted singer. The abundance of bass is to be applauded too. It's not just there for ambiance,
Reingold makes sure it takes charge and is noticed, even amongst the pretty little keyboard runs. The chorus sinks its hold in and grabs you right off the bat, making the journey more palatable.
Shrinking in song length, there's the nearly ten minute,
"Two Blocks From the Edge", a fantastic slab of dark progressive music. Theo Travis' saxophone is given free reign here, and its influence running deep and squawking sinister. Unusual counterpoint acoustic guitar melodies and powerful keyboards fill in the rest of this pessimistic atmosphere. The guitar solos are impressive bits, but the track does seem a little too long and could have benefited from some editing, but perhaps all this instrumental material is what progressive fans clamor for afterall...
For an album meant to be uplifting, it takes a truly depressive turn. The grand finale is a two part epic that was written in tribute to
Reingold's parents who passed away last year. Called
"Eternally" and split into two sections, the first being a sorrowful piano piece, and the second is packed with all the things that make your heart skip a beat. Although it takes forever and a day to rise above its filmscore weepiness. Around two minutes it finally gives in to voice and takes wing. Huge string sections, Edman's voice dripping in sadness, its just a wallowing well of emotion. There is a very poignant guitar solo here as well, which is worth hearing for its bleak, shattered tone, not to mention all the accordion from Lelo Nika. (Accordion? This is progressive, you know).
Karmakanic's
"Who's the Boss in the Factory" was built to be an album to make you feel good. Mostly it just depresses or else lulls you into boredom.
"Send a Message From the Heart" has so many nice passages scattered within it, but is so long and slapped together with filler that it's sometimes difficult to sit through it in its entirety.
"Let in Hollywood" is catchy but a track that will either impress you or leave you cold, its so very offbeat. The title track has some grand moments but then loses momentum as it bogs down in repetitive instrumental tangents. The rest of the album is quite depressing in turn. As the case for most albums of this nature, there's a feeling that it could be something truly wonderful if submitted to the whims of a ruthless editor. Left as it is, anyone that possesses a great deal of patience and a progressive mind will enjoy this, as it skips alot of the pretentious noodling that Jonas' other outfit,
The Flower Kings indulge in, but offers up something similar that is a little bit more easy to get into. Just a little bit, mind you.
Written by
Alanna Thursday, November 20, 2008
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