Japanese band YUKA & CHRONOSHIP was formed in 2009, and I understand that the band at least initially mainly was the creative vehicle of composer, vocalist and musician Yuka Funakoshi, the remaining members of the band mainly renowned as highly skilled and talented studio musicians. The band have three studio albums to their name so far. “The 3rd Planetary Chronicles” is the most recent of these, and was released through UK label Cherry Red Records in the fall of 2015.
As one might suspect from the title of this CD, this album is one that explores a set theme or concept, in this case the history of the Earth from the stone age and, I guess, well into the future. As I’m working with a digital version of this production I don’t know how well this concept is outlined, and as this is a mostly instrumental production the songs themselves do not indicate strongly how far reaching the concept is either, other than the name of the songs indicating that these chronicles cover ages past, present as well as yet to be.
Similar to a steadily increasing number of artists, Yuka & Chronoship appears to have chosen a take on progressive rock that isn’t easily placed inside any of the subsections of the progressive rock universe. They come across as a unit that have well thought out ideas about what sounds and effects to use at any given time, and use them without any thought on how the various details or the sheer totality of them fits into a context or not. As such, this isn’t a band to seek out if your taste in music is towards a band that stays put within a narrowly defined corner of the progressive rock universe.
A recurring feature throughout is the use of the piano to provide core motifs, more often than not in the shape of delicate, wandering patterns that only gets to dominate whenever the composition in question hone in on the more sparsely arranged, fragile moments, and is otherwise more of a supplemental feature adding a delicate presence to the proceedings. Another recurring feature is the use of Yuka’s vocals as a nonverbal, atmospheric textures, basically the voice used as an additional instrument. This gives the songs an almost sacral, organic presence that can be mesmerizingly beautiful, and those who tend to enjoy such effects can note down this production as a must buy due to this detail alone.
Otherwise the compositions alternate between multiple and different types of stylistic expressions, as regarded from within a progressive rock context admittedly, with subtle references to bands like Pink Floyd, Camel and arguably Genesis as well tucked into the brew, with compositions that range from pastoral oriented fragile sequences to dramatic neo progressive rock in general style, but also with room for some cinematic interludes and occasional lapses into jazzrock and funk-flavored sequences as a natural part of the proceedings.
The end result is a distinctly modern sounding take on progressive rock, a fairly eclectic album but also one that maintains an accessible sound and atmosphere throughout, with occasional nods towards some of the great names in the annals of the genre as, perhaps, something of an incidental feature. When that is said, the manner in which this production unfolds and the general nature of the material makes me suspect that those with a taste for 80’s and 90’s neo progressive rock might be something of a key audience for this CD, alongside symphonic progressive rock fans with a something of a liberal taste and a certain affection for skilled, contemporary bands in general.
My rating: 82/100
