Axiom of Choice
0 . :
Summary
It seems this band and the leader Török have been around for some time, but this is my first encounter with them.
The music
The album opens with with some beautiful and sweet melodies. The bass bubbles along, and then the flute makes its entry. The rhythm section keeps it calm. The musis has a kind of jazzy feel and enjoys quite a bit of swing, but all in a rather reserved way. Reference I might name are Camel, a bit of Coda, but also a New Agey feeling that I get. Although the flute does bring in a possible likeness to Tull and Focus, these bands are much more energetic. The song has quite a bit of repetition, the vocals are quite varied and do not fit that well with the rather static music. Later the flute tends a bit to Paul Horn, with just a hint of Tull. At the end the opening melody returns making for a stately close.
A playful opening we find on the second, very long track. Again, the music stays rather calm throughout, bringing to my mind both Suzanne Ciani as well as a sweeter variant on ECM styled music. Later the music gets more prominence on the keyboards and the bass starts to swing. What I lack here is a tension, the music seems to flow by too easily. Other pointers here are Flairck and Ant Phillips with a hint of Tull and even ELP. However, the music continues to be calm and lacks in appeal. At the end it gets to be boring.
The title track opens with percussively played piano and introverted vocals and flute. The drums are a tad more active, but continues to keep the music calm and slightly folky. Later the music does get a bit more active, but the transitions strike me as unnatural. Lord Of The Vineyard reminds me of the previous tracks, and is maybe a bit more frolic. Again the fire is lacking.
The short Biofood for children concludes the album. Quite a merry tune, but the music continues to be too careful for my tastes.
Conclusion
Easy-going, quiet, introverted, but without making up for this on the whole. References are say Camel, Tull and a New Ageness to go with that (if you can imagine that). There are some grand melodies on this album, but they are comparitively few and do not make for good songs on the whole. Too bad.
Jurriaan Hage
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