CD Kamen Entertainment Group Time 46:17
https://www.facebook.com/tyler.kamen
https://tylerkamen.bandcamp.com/
My rating 80/100
One thing is for sure, if you own your own record publishing company, anything you produce and release, especially your own material, needs to be pretty damn good. Otherwise and quite literally anything short of excellence will reflect on your reputation as a recording studio and drive away future customers. And, so it comes as no surprise that multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer ‘Tyler Kamen’ has delivered an extremely engaging album of charming psychedelic-tinged progressive rock for release on his own label.
Packed into 17 separate tracks extending over 46 minutes. ‘Tyler’ has just about sampled every aspect of psychedelia within a progressive rock conceptual framework in fact a veritable A-Z of whacky pop. The entire kitchen sink of sound effects, rhythmical flavourings and melodic trimmings have been incorporated within this ragbag of totally nonsense but a storyline of pleasurable extremes. The outcome resulting in a beautifully balanced programme of songs which although whimsical and steeped in absolute fantasy are well composed and extremely cleverly arranged.
From a studio undertaking, it is indeed a breathtaking enterprise with multitudes of trickery, backward loops and overdubs galore, a studio engineer’s dream for sure (or maybe even nightmare?) The entire affair is infused with layers of sharp and melodic floating guitar revealing itself throughout the programme in many shapes and forms and coming to the fore in an enterprising lead fashion. The variety of keyboard contributions injected within the mix vary considerably in style and pace but provide a solid platform to enable the guitar to let rip soar and sway. The percussion has been well worked out and is solid throughout with all elements of rock, pop, jazz and psychedelia influencing the vast array of time changes and rhythmical patterns encompassed within the multi-frameworks of the project.
Tyler’s vocal contributions are extremely impressive and he delivers some lovely memorable melodic hook lines. But so far as the storyline is concerned, well who knows? It is hardly important.
Summary: A really good album with a curt nod to the psychedelic sixties and in particular a definite glance towards Sergeant Pepper and its jangling tones of a spooky fairground organ.
Band Line Up:
Tyler Kamen – All instruments and vocals
Track Listing:
- Prologue – Welcome to Lizard House
- Mr. Loon
- Chapter 1 – Tall Tales
- The Spectacular Machine
- Polygon Shapeshift
- Evergreen Forest
- Chapter 2 – Sudden Landing
- Mrs. Trinket’s Bird Sanctuary
- Engine Trouble
- Chapter 3 – Great Escape
- Visiting Dr. Swindlebeast
- Watt Sedation
- Floating Expectations
- Chapter 4 – Return to Lizard House
- Wings
- The Other Way
- A Means of Egress
Tyler Kamen is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer from New York who currently runs his own label, Kamen Entertainment Group, Inc. Tyler’s style is based in psychedelic and progressive rock, but also pulls influence from folk, jazz, and blues. Every instrument and vocal is written and performed by himself and every album has been produced by himself.
Social Media Links: https://tylerkamen.bandcamp.com/ https://www.tylerkamen.com/
https://open.spotify.com/album/6xqBqkqWh5c9p8kdsBqR r8?si=piLRgqSaT5GMw3_uUnSBhQ https://music.amazon.com/albums/B08LCZ5Q15? https://music.apple.eom/us/artist/tyler-kamen/1196446917https://www.facebook.com/tylerkamenmusic https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5mbVCcscQsxmjgv TFajenQ https://kamen.com/
