| The
Review |
I’m here to say that progressive rock is alive and well
in Canada. It is perhaps a small contingent of dedicated musicians
who tread those waters, but they are committed to the cause.
One of the shining lights of symphonic prog in Canada would
have to be a Band from Montreal calling themselves Synthology.
Some time back I reviewed their second release. They had indicated
they were working on a re-mastering of their first CD entitled
Between Day and Night originally released in 2000 and that
has now been released. I’m happy to say this is more than
just a re-release, it is in fact a re-recording of their first
CD, and what treat it is. ***
Just for the record, Synthology is primarily John Alarcon
who handles all the keyboards and composes and arranges everything.
On Between Night and Day he enlists the help of James Alarcon
(guitar), Tony Duncan (drums), Antoine Yu (12-string guitar),
Marysa Mardini (vocals), and Benoit Lacroix (flute, oboe).
The sound here is of a real band. Now I’ve not heard the original,
but I’m told there has been considerable reworking of some
of the pieces. Of note is the extensive use of Mellotron samples
you’ll hear throughout. ***
The music Synthology create falls squarely in the symphonic
prog realm. It is flowing, lush, pastoral, all those things
that we’ve come to expect from the genre. The guitar work
here has a distinct Steve Hackett feel and fits the overall
sound perfectly. The keyboard sounds range from the typical
churchy organ, piano, synth and Mellotron choir and strings.
The rhythm section of bass and drums are solid performing
the roll of momentum and in that regard all the compositions
are more or less mid-tempo, although many of the compositions
do reflect subtle shifts in atmosphere. Subtle is the key
here as we may go from a section where voice and piano dominate,
only to change to a flute musical bridge. Of the nine compositions,
six of them are in the three or four minute range leaving
room for two around seven minutes and one running out to thirteen
minutes, but even in the shorter compositions one has the
feeling of depth, texture and fluidity as each piece seems
to reflect a fullness one moment and then softer ambience
the next. Most of the songs have vocals handled by the warm
and expressive voice of Marysa. Her vocal style seems to fit
perfectly into Alarcon’s composing style. The feeling evoked
by much of the music on Between Night and Day is one of hope
or even joy. ***
For those of you needing a musical reference point, and
I know how helpful that can be at times, imagine if you will
the symphonic side of Harmonium crossed with early Steve Hackett
and you’ll get a pretty clear audio sample of what to expect
here. Synthology’s Between Night and Day was such a pleasant
surprise to my ears. It turned out to be one of those CD’s
I kept going back to over and over again. There’s a lot of
great music here and you’ll hear more each time it plays.
Top marks to Synthology. Fans of softer, melodic symphonic
prog will definitely want to pick up a copy. ***
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