Debut offering from this talented musician, composer, and producer, pretty much a one-man show with a lot of help from various friends, namely Gong’s flutist Ian East. A wide diversity of stimulating influences permeate this work, anywhere from Penguin Café Orchestra, via Soft Machine to bits of Gentle Giant, most notably opening the recording with “A Severe Lack of Gravitas”, where an orchestral violin and cello introduction evolves into a more intricate arrangement, tossing in a furious rhythmic pulse, Rob on rubbery bass and Eliseo Salaverri on the percussive kit. Layered with stormy electric guitar frills, delicate flute fluttering, impressive choir work, the piece certainly has the wherewithal to excite the senses.
Those effects are noticeable on the “A Bountiful Surplus of Grace”, a seven-minute progressive roller coaster reminiscent of typically quirky British jazz-rock, heavily laden with harrowing twists and turns, breathtaking accelerations and turn on a dime variations. A truly excellent salvo that settles the pace of what is to follow.
Things get quite Canterbury-ish on the extended “A Profound Throb of Dread”, a splashy experiment woven with multi-layered vocal harmonies and counterpoint, a devilish mix of Gentle Giant and Gong and a quasi-hypnotic arrangement where Rob’s sultry saxophone blows hard and mighty, before switching to a e-guitar romp and a churlish bass undertow. The man is an ‘Octopus’ (hint), very impressive, indeed! The vocals have a definitely Daevid Allen intonation, which makes the package even that more charming and somewhat tongue in cheek, with Pedro Viera’s lovely piano putting an end to the ‘dread’ LOL. A most accessible experimental track, in the fine tradition of the genre.
No halting the zaniness on the “An Absurd Case of Iguanas”, kicking off with an extensive Barbara Thompson-like saxophone (think A Touch of Frost TV series), with a slight tropical maybe Middle Eastern feel, nonetheless. A remarkable flight, as the surly electric guitar parallels the sax, and ventures into a harder edged Hillage-era Gong mania. The seductive piano reverts to a more playful environment, Viera doing a huge job on the ivories. Wow!
How about some more? Rob just shifts it into another gear, the duelling sax and guitar team fighting off the bass/drum coalition within a languorous reptilian uncoiling, veering into a high velocity rampage of technique and passionate insanity. I could not help being impregnated by the Soft Machine mood, circa the “Softs” album. Halfway through, the atmosphere becomes psychedelia incarnate, Rob doing his Steve Hillage personation convincingly, more Khan the band than “You”, suffused with a raw energy and a gruff delivery, the merciless sax blowing in delirium. Bloody incredible! Can this possibly continue?
The final track “A Fragile Harmony of Desires” slays the proverbial dragon, Rob doing his fabled caricature of St-George with a long story telling vocal that had me thinking The Legendary Pink Dots for a few seconds, though the bass and the flute shove this into a completely different sonic zone, the crazed orchestral backing notwithstanding. The bass clarinet makes a divine apparition within the breakneck vocal counterpoint delivery that would make the Shulmans blush with envy (but utterly proud as well, I daresay). The slithering bass chaperones the Ian East flute with perfect timing, with guest drummer Lloyd Stratford supplying the syncopation.
This unexpected jewel blew me away from the very first audition, a rare feat with eccentric music like this, which only highlights how surprised fans of the afore mentioned Prog geniuses will be if they land on this head explosion. This will be released on June 28, 2024.
4.5 skull detonations
