| The
Review |
You have to hand it to Prog Rock records for taking chances
on such a wide variety of progressive artists and giving them
the opportunity of wider exposure. If it weren’t for companies
such as this we may never hear bands such as Greylevel, a
West Coast Canadian trio who’ve been around in one form or
other since 2001 but have just released their first CD entitled
Opus One. Greylevel is made up of Derek Barber (vocals, guitar,
keyboards, bass), Richard Shukin (guitar) and Esther Barber
(vocals, keyboards). ***
The music on Greylevel’s Opus One is moody and dramatic
symphonic progressive rock with an overall mellow acoustic
feel. There’s about 60 minutes of music here split into six
mostly longer tracks. A couple of them run out to over 15
minutes. Conceptually these pieces are all talking about finding
hope by looking beyond one’s self. In that regard there is
a strong sense of mellow anxiety, if I can describe it as
such. Although there are parts of track-5 “Possessing Nothing”
that manage to become almost aggressive in a Greylevel sort
of manner. But even here there is a restraint shown as the
piece comes back to an acoustic feel. The male and female
vocals are all soft and delivered in a breathy manner which
further contributes to that restrained or hesitant sense to
the compositions. And while the synths provide ample orchestral
backing there are many moments where the music is rather sparse
and again lending an air of anxiety. I like it. You get this
feeling that there is something bigger going on here, something
hiding around the corner. As for the structure of the songs
they slide from one segment to the next quite seamlessly.
Themes occur and reoccur in quite a sophisticated manner.
But again Greylevel isn’t afraid of just letting an acoustic
piano sit on its own lending space to the piece. The vocals
as well as the music do betray a certain melancholy feel and
again it’s a mood I grew to like with repeated listening.
Some of the musical motifs that keep showing up really make
for some enjoyable moments. You know you get that little hook
that seems to work so well. ***
When I first put this on I was reminded of artists such
as Ken Baird, although the music of Greylevel is perhaps a
little more adventurous, even complex. There’s also a hint
of that softer side of early Porcupine Tree running in and
out of some of the compositions, in particular track four
“Your Light.” As a first offering, this gets high praise and
certainly bodes well for their next effort. If you are fan
of acoustic symphonic prog or any of the Scandinavian symphonic
bands you’ll probably enjoy the music of Greylevel. I know
I did. ***
|
