Tarkus
, 2004 12: AM
Driven by bassist Balázs Szendőfi comes yet another instrumental jazz-prog orchestra from Hungary and Periferic Records – although chronologically, this album precedes the Inkabb Holnap debut. Contrary to Inkabb Holnap, Mindflowers is more of a fusion/rock band with progressive elements. This does not mean they are boring, but they sound the most like fusion in spite of several diffrent styles appearing on the album.
The record opens with "Red Spider", a typical uptempo, guitar based jazzrock piece, and "Falling", a relaxing fusion track completely without challenges or untraditional harmonies. Eventually they stretch out a bit with tracks like "Why?", a short jazz ballad with 7-string bass, the sophisticated and soaring "Crying Skies", the folk-ish and completely acoustic "Flo’s Kisses". In between, they place tracks with pure heavy passages. The album ends traditionally (prog-wise, that is) with the 22 minute "Talk With Myself". Apart from a short break incorporating latino jazz, this track mainly re-use all the previous effects in a larger (and slightly more monotonous) scale. Considering its length, this "epic" track has not a lot to contribute to the album.
The group’s speciality lies not first and foremost in their ability to vary between styles. Their achievement is that they manage to fit all the music into a fusion/jazz-rock context, and thereby giving the album more unity. An interesting project within modern fusion, and well worth your time.
Trond Sætre
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