| The
Review |
Hot on the heels of the international re-release of their
first CD Karcius are back with a sophomore CD of brand new
material entitled Kaleidoscope. Traditionally this has tended
to be a difficult period for bands that in many cases use
this time to release left-over material from their first recording.
Not so here. This Canadian four-piece continue to develop
their prog-jazz-fusion style here with eight new compositions
that show absolutely no signs of being “left-overs.” ***
Just as a reminder, Karcius are from the Montreal, Canada
area and members include Dominique Blouin (bass), Thomas Brodeur
(drums), Simon L’Esperance (guitar) and Mingan Sauriol (keyboards).
Created in 2001 the music of Karcius continues with this second
release to be an interesting mix of instrumental progressive
rock injected with large doses of fusion or jazz elements.
There are a total of 56-minutes of music here with eight compositions
ranging mostly in the six minute range with the longest clocking
in at just over eleven minutes. Their first release actually
came out in 2003 and in the intervening years the band has
simply gotten tighter and perhaps more confident in going
from one style to the next. The movement between the slower
and faster song sections seems more seamless. This is perhaps
a credit to their arranging abilities as well. You do get
to recognize the various musical styles. Being all instrumental
the pieces seem to evolve before your ears. One moment the
fretless base is sliding around overtop of an almost cabaret
style piano and the next the guitar is creating crunchy shredding,
only to slip back into a Latin feel. There will be moments
of ambient atmosphere holding you out expectantly only to
descend into chaos, which then morphs into a jazz combo feel.
It’s really quite a trip. As before each member gets ample
time in the spotlight, and it’s all shared pretty much equally,
drums, keyboards, bass and guitar all their solos. And just
as before running throughout the disc is an overriding sense
that this is first and foremost a band that likes to rock.
Oh, they’ll take the time to play, but when it’s all said
and done it’s time to let loose. It is that restrained sense
of musicality that makes the music of Karcius special. You
just know there’s something else going to be coming at you
at any moment. ***
There’s no question that the prog-fusion genre has grown
over the last few years and with it so has the market. Karcius
will find a ready home for their music. It’s a musical style
that goes from intense to dramatic, from grooving to shredding
and more. In fact it is the depth of their compositional style
that is one of their main strengths. This is a band that needs
to be heard. As I said with their first release give it three
or four spins and you’ll be converted. As their sophomore
release, Kaleidoscope takes the music of Karcius to the next
level. This is more than a contender, it’s a winner! ***
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