This is the second album from the Polish progressive band Love de Vice. I saw the band recently at ProgPower Europe in Holland, where they played a set which combined Classic and Progressive Rock, and featured a good deal of atmosphere and melody. It was evident that the band has experienced and talented musicians. I also learnt from the lead singer Pawel Granecki that the recorded version of their work was going to be richer in its range.
“Cold Sun Goodbye”, the first track, initially has a classic formula. It starts out as a punchy Rock track. The structure is good and there’s plenty of movement. The track then bursts into life after three minutes. The structure becomes heavier and there’s a Hawkwind-style cyber sound in there. I felt it could have gone for longer – it’s Prog, so it is allowed. The mood changes for “Hermit”. The rhythm is insistently dark. The singer’s voice takes on a new personality to match the sombre tone. It’s distant-sounding and despairing but the words, which reflect a hermit’s isolation, are clear. The control is good. The band knows how to master breaks and pace change. The technique is such that the track steps up a gear subtly and in a way that is pleasing on the ear. On another level, there is background guitar activity which fits in to make a more interesting and sophisticated sound. “Megiddo” is another dark and nihilistic track but at first it’s heavy. The singer’s rich voice enhances the measured rhythm and ringing riff. It’s shadowy and has an Eastern feel in line perhaps with the title which appears to be referring to a battle in Ancient Egypt. The shadowy and darkwave style is likely to appeal to followers of post-doom or even Gothic Rock music. “Love or Illusion” introduces the delightful sound of the sitar. West meets here as the track bursts into life and progresses in a Classic 70s Rock style but in a thoroughly exotic framework. There’s a really interesting mix of ideas here.
It’s clear that as the album progresses, it’s starting to branch out from the extremely competent Rock-Prog ambiance of, say, Jethro Tull and King Crimson, with whom Love de Vice’s style has been likened. “With You Now” demonstrates the point. The melancholic sound of the strings leads us into this emotional and tear-jerking, yet powerful track. Korean ethnic drums had been used on the previous track “Love of Illusion”. “With You Now” called for the sad strains of the erhu, I felt. It’s not beyond them. It is clear that Love de Vice have the patience to build up a series of sounds. On “With You Now” they create a mystic mood. The acoustic accompaniment helps to set the tone, while this time the singer’s floaty vocal style matches the mood perfectly. Neither Anathema nor Katatonia could have done it better. Each track has identity so it’s never clear what style or instruments we’re going to hear next. Following on from the previous track “Heavy Cross” is acoustic-led. Singer Pawel launches into a frustrated tirade, matched by an ever strengthening 70s style instrumental Rock/Metal accompaniment. The band provide further evidence that the power comes from the quality and depth, not speed, as the angst-filled psychedelic sounds of chaos move in and envelop us at the end.
Classic orchestral sadness heralds the start of the 13 minute “Letter in ‘A’ Minor”. The track develops in its own way like a story. Melancholy gives way to a mid-paced beat. Strings reinforce the dark beauty of the track. The plaintive guitars and violins are not for their own sake. They make statements. Meanwhile there’s an insistent dum-dum-dum giving a harder edge to this track about broken dreams. Then there’s a sweeping Prog Rock passage. No time is taken to linger – I wish on occasions throughout this album it would linger more on the many big moments – but the sound notches up as the mood intensifies still further. Creativity comes at us from all angles. The track sweeps on majestically while the guitar provides the power. This is enormous. Finally, the guitar provides the top layer in a rare long, wide-reaching and sensitive passage and then it fades out, leaving us thirsting for more.
The first two minutes of this album gave me no idea of what was coming. There is an air of the experimental about it, but sitting on a classic bed, this well-produced album is very fluid. Technically, it is first class. “Numaterial” challenges the listening buds in a very nice way. It is creative and progressive but doesn’t chop and change. It doesn’t dwell – for me I felt it would have been better still if it had done so at times – but presses on, adding layer upon layer. It’s imaginative, full of ideas, structured, intelligent and engages the brain with its depth while being easy to listen to. These qualities make “Numaterial” a very good album indeed.
http://www.myspace.com/lovedviced
http://www.lovedvice.pl
