Member:
JLucky
Date:
6/19/2005
There was a time in my life when live albums were hot. It was great fun to play it loud and put myself in the crowd. Then over the years as with most people, my listening styles changed. So I’d have to admit that these days I don’t normally gravitate to live albums, I’d sooner go for the studio sound. But every-so-often a CD comes along that shifts the paradigm. Under the Sun’s Schematism is one of those CDs.
This 71 minute recording brings together much of their first CD as well as includes a new 13 minute track called “Souljourner.” The live performance is taken from Under the Sun’s 2001 gig at NEARfest. Sonically it’s first rate. If it weren’t for a little crowd noise you might be fooled into thinking this came right out of the studio. Performance wise these guys really have their chops together, shifting from complex guitar, bass and keyboard interplay into atmospheric bridge elements linking the various song sections. Call it movingly melodic symphonic prog with a bit of an edge. Many of their compositions display a wide dynamic range, loud to soft, fast to slow which is best exemplified by the track “The Time Being” featuring some nice keyboard strings. One of the things that attracted me to Under the Sun right off was their ability to inject a mature rocking sensibility that’s tied to a hum-able melodic theme such as in “Breakwater.” As for the new track, “Souljourner” it easily picks up where their first CD left off. It’s full of great musicianship, turn-on-a-dime dynamics and once again a catchy recurring theme. If it’s any indication of the Under the Sun’s new material I’m anxious to hear more.
For those who don’t know, Under the Sun is a four-piece from Los Angeles consisting of Chris Shryack (lead vocals, guitar), Kurt Barabas (bass, backing vocals), Matt Evidon (keyboards, backing vocals) and Paul Shkut (drums). Their first self-titled CD came out in 2000 and won rave reviews not only at my house but also in prog circles around the world. I really like the sound these guys create, it was one of those CD’s I loved from the moment I put it on. There is a ton of brooding intensity in their compositions that wells up periodically and is then released through majestic crescendos. Fortunately, all of that is captured live on Schematism.
Paradoxically one of the things that I liked about Schematism is that it doesn’t actually sound like a live recording. The CD was mixed by producer/engineer Brad Aaron in a manner that doesn’t put you out in the audience as much as it virtually puts you on the stage. You feel like you’re right there, not at the back of the hall, but in with the band. Yet unlike the actual live environment, here each instrument, each sound is clearly discernable. It is a subtle but truly pleasurable audio experience. As I said at the outset, as one who’s not partial to live recordings, Under the Sun’s Schematism is a wonderful surprise. I heartily recommend it to new and old fans while we await the band’s new studio release.
|
|
|
