There isn’t much in the way of background information on the French Prog Rockers ‘Clover Seeds,’ but having formed in 2004 and released two EP’s and an album (Innocence, 2009), they are now set to make a space for themselves among prog rock’s finest with their new album release ‘The Opening.’
Having received the album, I was definitely impressed with the cover artwork of a quite spooky looking man made out of tree and holding a pocket watch (You’d have to see it to be impressed). There’s a superb riff at the beginning of the first track ‘Over Camellia’. The vocals are harmonic and distinctive, the chorus catchy as hell; quite uplifting but not too much, this is prog rock after all! The middle section has a beautiful soothing guitar solo which then blends in perfectly with the vocals. ‘Fam(L)ar’ starts off with a simple but effective little riff, with an equally simple steady drum beat. In come the vocals, full of depression and anger. As amazing as this track was, I felt the need to skip it as I was starting to feel quite melancholic myself (obviously the song was effective). Skipping a few tracks now to ‘Brand New Day’ which stood out with the exquisite vocal work and the drum rolls which both sounded so clear and tranquil that it felt like I could hear a pin drop.
My firm favourite on this album is ‘Calling Me Down’ due to the soothing riff throughout and the unsteady drum beats. The bass fits beautifully on this well put together piece. The album title track ‘The Opening’ made me turn the volume up that little bit more for the intro part which sounds like a heart beating. The guitar riffs throughout are clear and steady and toward the middle become a little heavier. I can’t find a fault with any of the solo’s on this cd, they are all quite incredible.
The last track I chose to mention is ‘Enough’. A perfect ending through what felt like an incredible and emotional journey. The serene intro and again, beautiful vocals which picked up the pace towards the middle section and just when you think the vocals couldn’t get any better, it gets pushed up a notch!
Overall I liked this album. It’s definitely incomparable to other artists and the production work throughout is impeccable. An album I’d surely recommend!
http://www.myspace.com/cloverseeds
