From the beginning to the end, this album takes the listener on a journey of a dream and trance like state, entangling a variety of genre involved. Starting with a slow bass and drum lines of the first track (“Promise”), it puts you into a relaxed mood. You can imagine putting this as a solid romantic backdrop soundtrack, or getting ready to splash gallons of paint onto a canvas.
Leading to the second track, it’s kicked up a notch, giving you a slight club and dance feel to it, to begin your movements of brush to fabric, or doing a jig bringing the steaks in off of the grill. This ride continues to push you to feel the swing of the music to go and “Roll with Me” as it’s aptly titled.
Our third track (“If Cassie Wants To Play”) brings it up another notch, giving you this old school fifties vibe, crossed with a new age feel. Retro is how it feels, but you know that the sound was only born yesterday to cross over this gap, while you’re mixing the various colors for the next stroke.
The take becomes more intriguing when it stops and the fourth is started. “Baby” brings you back to the trance, as it almost forces you to remember those times you had with her and the joy that the two of you brought to each other. The colors are becoming warmer in the mind, imagining the different shades of blue from her eyes. You’re captive now.
But as “Je Taime” kicks in, the mood is switched and now looking another way. Suddenly sitting in a hookah bar, toking on a fine tobacco or bud (country dependent ;). But at the end, it’s brought back together to a trance state. Fascinating.
“Pablo’s Daughter” takes you back to her again. Whoever she is, perfection is the key word to describe her. It’s romantically enticing you, fantasizing in your dream state the wholeness that rounds her out. The instrumentation of this one continues to hold your brush in the perfect position as your canvas grows.
“Sanctified” brings you back down from her, as it slowly swings you on the floor. The horns on this are amazing, as you can truly feel every note that is played. Astounding comes to mind, followed by an emotional floored as he runs you over fading in the distance.
You’re standing back up as “Christopher” kicks in, giving more of a ‘pop’ feel to it. The sounds cross over, taking on a different perspective about midway through for the instrumental piece; but by the end you’ve returned back to your trance with the guitar solo.
“This Is What It Comes Down To” takes the journey to a jam session, idling on the sideline as your enchanted by the music and its conductor. Layers are the key word, and each layer brings its own feeling and character to it.
Our tenth tracks bring out a charged electrical and dirty funk feel to the album. Almost like you want to take your paint brush, close your eyes and begin laying out blind strokes. But then you see the way the picture is forming in the mind’s eye and the translation taking place in front of you matches note for note. “The Price Of Tea in China” ends with a very raw guitar solo that opens your eye’s back up to what you placed on your fabric. Impressive.
“Serenity” felt and sounded as it’s titled. Calm and soothing, using a variety of instruments to convey the swing of this song. The picture is finishing as you’re continuing to glide across the floor with your partner in hand.
This is followed up with the end of the album “A Song for Angelita”, which completes the trance and dream state. Nothing is left unsaid or incomplete on this track. A wonderful sound mixture.
As you continue to let this play, the hidden track (maybe) comes out with a remixed version of “Baby”. Taking a totally separate path from the original recording, this track still gives the character basis of it the full salute it deserves. The colors aren’t as warm, as the spectrum changed on this one, but you’re still captivated by her, held in by the gaze across the room.
Overall this came out as an excellent sounding album. Very ‘listenable’, whether you’re hitting the road, dancing in the kitchen, or just laying back at the end of the day. It’s safe to say that there isn’t one track I would skip to get to the next. That is a rarity in and of itself.
~Mark Maxwell, Kentucky USA
