Aural Innovations Issue #7 — Album Reviews Part 2

Steven R. Smith — From Ashes Come

(3 Acre Floor 1999, 3eeAC07)

Keith Henderson

Smith is a talented multi-instrumentalist that also plays in the improv quartet Mirza on the Darla label. On From Ashes Come, he offers eight all-instrumental works that fall along similar lines, i.e., experimental excursions into mild dissonance and unusual sounds. The liner notes are (again) bereft of biographical information, so I am left to guess as to what instruments are really creating all these peculiar noises.

Loomings opens the album in strong fashion, odd nasally sounds (is that a harmonica?) carrying on over acoustic guitar strumming, and a taste of controlled feedback at the end. Footfalls Stitched Among Others seems more like Japanese folk music, as it clangs about under screechy violin bits and what sounds like a cello. Smith stretches out on Her Walking Dress, as a buzzing drone builds up and down late in the track towards an insane finale of backmasked sounds. Crazy. The sweeter Latitudes recalls mid-70's Cluster, the use of echoes on the piano parts working very effectively. Nearly a full band contingent (i.e., guitar/bass/drums) comes forth on Behind and Before, another longer tune that develops an ebb-and-flow sense, and yet more freaky noises. In contrast, tinkly piano chords and echoey drone guitar characterise the penultimate track Tow-line onto Surface. To Rise and Move On finishes off the album with a little more movement and a number of intertwining melodies.

Smith is kinda 'out-there' at times, and so his music is not always the easiest to digest. Like Ebeling-Hughes from Detroit, he knows his way around a studio and can create just about any sound or noise imaginable. The ratio of sweet sounds to nasally dissonance is rather low on this album, though it's really the lack of any truly shining moments that makes this mid-length/mid-price album less favorable than the excellent Iron Compass Flux by the parent group Mirza. Still, I admire the guy's work here.

Eureka Farm — Analog

(Distropolis Records 1999)

Jerry Kranitz

From Bellingham, WA in the great Pacific Northwest comes Eureka Farm who describe themselves as "pop to the 10th power". Well this is certainly pop music but is far more instrumentally and rhythmically complex than most pop you'll hear on the radio. The band is a trio and includes Arman Bohn on guitar and vocals, Jason McGerr on drums and vocals, and Nicholas Harmer on bass and vocals.

Eureka Farm's influences are diverse citing classic Blue Note releases, Tim Buckley, Can, Traffic, Talk Talk, and Sonic Youth. That's quite a range and while no one of those are individually discernible in the music, the diversity certainly is. The instrumentation is at all times integral to the 'songs' and the vocals are prominent throughout. The harmonies at times reminded me of the avant prog band 5UU's, at others the vocals sounded like the singer from Jane's Addiction, and at others the music of Joe Jackson and even XTC came to mind. So you see my comparisons are as farflung as the band's influences!

Among the highlight tunes is Adrenalin which was one of songs that reminded me a lot of 5UU's. High-pitched, somewhat dissonant vocals are backed by strumming acoustic guitars and a thumping bass line that in the end are joined by a crunching acid guitar. Headache is a similar tune though a bit more intense and embellished by some intricate percussion work. Like Adrenaline we're blasted by heavier guitar later in the tune, this time a cool sounding fuzz guitar. In fact, this is a bit of a trademark as the band seems to like grooving along and then blasting the listener with the big gun sounds.

Jupiter is one of my favorites tracks. It starts as an easy-going number with a strumming electric guitar and the slightly jazzy rhythm section found on much of the CD. The pace alternately quickens and recedes until launching into a frenzy during the song's last minute. In summary, this isn't space-rock but would appeal to readers on the lookout for creatively complex pop music.

On Trial — New Day Rising

(Delerium 1999, CD 071)

Scott Heller

This is the 3rd CD by the Danish psych band, On Trial. The band has been around since 1987 and has released a limited edition single and LP in the late 80's of the hard rock style before fully realising their psychedelic potential. The previous two CD's (70 Kilometers of Underwater Nothingness, Kaptain! in 1995; Head Entrance in 1997) were very heavy and a mixture of Roky Erikson meets Monster Magnet Spine of God era. Way out there.

This new CD sees the band bring in a bit more 60's psych style, especially on the first two numbers Flashin'ghast and As if, where the organ sound (only used minimally on the other songs) is very prominent in the mix. Pot of Gold and Long Time Gone are the most aggressive numbers on the CD and quite heavy and some great far out guitar sounds. That is where On Trial excel the most, in the use of the multiple effected guitar sound of both Morten and Henrik.

Doubt is a slow, very spacey number highlighting Bo's great voice. The feeling of the guitar playing and the way they layer it all together is masterful! Cast it Aside is a very heavy and fast song that really gets the audience going live! Sleeper is another slow moody song with some excellent spacey guitar interplay between Morten and Henrik and the use of some backwards guitar. Excellent song. Do You See Her is really a trip back to the 60's, with a middle eastern feeling organ sound and highly effected guitar sound.

New Day Rising is the true psychedelic masterpiece of the CD, spacing out for nearly 11 minutes. The slow eastern sounding beginning fades into a full-on psychedelic guitar battle that begins at around 5 minutes. Outside the Door closes the CD, as it has on all the band's CD's. It is a strange piece of a woman's voice from some TV show (I think) that the band mixes in backwards instruments and guitars. Quite strange. Anyway, an incredible and highly recommended psychedelic rock album with some great spaced out guitars. Let's hope there will be another one from this great band.

Super Furry Animals — Radiator

(Flydaddy 1999, Fly 034)

Keith Henderson

Super Furry Animals is sort of the Welsh answer to Athens, Georgia's Elephant 6 collective that includes Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Elf Power, among others. Accordingly, their quirky psych-pop owes a bit to Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles and perhaps even the Jetsons. Radiator, the follow-up to the 1996 debut Fuzzy Logic, is already kinda old (released in 1997 in the UK) as they've already got Guerilla lined up for release on Creation Records in the UK. However, they've just been touring here in the U.S., and are starting to receive some attention and high praise.

There's one simple way of telling whether you might like Radiator... it comes down to poppy harmonising. On one track (The International Language of Screaming) it's "La...la...la," later (Short Painkiller) it's "Ooh...ooh...ooh," and finally (Hermann Loves Pauline) it's "Bop...bop...bop." OK, there's a true spirit of fun and a party atmosphere overall, but the cheesy choruses turn dreadful real quick. The music isn't all bad though and Gruff Rhys, the band's lead vocalist, actually has a fine voice on his own. Super Furry Animals also produce a lot of variety, a bouncy surf tune here, a touch of techno/drum 'n' bass there, and a host of rompin' retro rockers. But there's still a lot of dreariness to wade through until you reach the album's stronger tunes, all clustered at the end.

On Bass Tuned To D.E.A.D, guitarist Huw Bunford lays down an opening jammin' riff, but it's really the Mellotron-ish synths and cool phaser-buzzing that flavour this tune and make it one of the album's true highlights. Similar noises and bleeps are featured in Down A Different River, which ranges back and forth between a laid-back dreamy piece and grandiose power ballardry. The vocals are really well done here, so I've stopped cringing for the moment. The remainder of the album is decent enough, and even wraps up with a taste of an old-style space march on Mountain People.

This music isn't really my 'thing,' so it can only have a certain limited appeal to my tastes - and given that, Radiator is at least tolerable, and even pretty cool in places. I don't mind their open silliness and quirky retro styling... it's really the harmony vocals and occasional bright sounds (crashy cymbals and trumpets) that I can't stomach too much. And since they've already completely revamped their style once (they started out as a techno band), perhaps they'll evolve into something more palatable to me.

Atman — Tradition

(Drunken Fish Records 1999, DFR45)

Jerry Kranitz

From Poland, Atman plays acoustic psychedelic folk music that includes traces of rock and jazz. They use a wide range of instrumentation that I couldn't begin to list, but will quote the following from their web page: "During their concerts the musicians of Atman use dozens of exclusively acoustic instruments originating mainly in Asia, Europe and Australia. Some of them are completely unique - ancient Polish dulcimer, singing bowls and other liturgic Tibetan instruments, Australian didjeridu and Slovakian pastoral fujara - while others are built following the models of "extinct" instruments and created in workshops headed by members of the group".

The band has apparently been together for nearly 20 years releasing tapes on their own Fly Records label. On Tradition the band is a six piece consisting of Anna Nacher, Marek Styczynski, Marek Leszczynski, Piotr Koleck, Tomasz Radziuk, and Tomasz Gulinski.

The music is subtly complex and utilises the band's array of instrumentation to create an ethnic psychedelia that will make you want to dance in the woods and call up the spirits of the forest. Various members have apparently travelled in Tibet and India and the influences of these countries are apparent in the music.

They even do a cover of Jimi Hendrix's Third Stone From The Sun making it fit completely with the style of the other songs on this disc. Anna Nacher's vocals are a gorgeous chanting style. She often sings in what I'm sure is her native Polish though words are unnecessary for enjoying the music. Many songs include multiple layers of stringed instruments all with their own distinct identity making this a trippy journey across many cultures and continents.

Fingerpaint — In The Loop

(FNGP 1999, 9901)

Jerry Kranitz

Remember all those albums years ago that bragged about how they were purely electronic and no conventional instruments were used? Well here's an ambient soundscape disc that is somewhat the opposite. Patrick Smith and Steev Geest mix a variety of guitar synths with loops to create aurally pleasing textured soundscapes that run the gamut from space journeys to more adventurous sound collages. When I inquired about the instrumentation, Smith explained that most of what they do is set up with MIDI guitars and everything is run through filters and effects so that the listener doesn't really hear plucked strings. In The Loop is their second CD release.

Among the highlight tracks is Occupation Zone. I'm technologically clueless so it's pretty fascinating to listen to this knowing there are no keyboards. There are a lot of freaky space noises creating a background while a bassoon sound plays a slow-going lounge melody. Things get even more detailed when a techno percussion beat comes in and the space sounds come more into the forefront. On Enormous Expansion we travel to the dark edges of space. Various blips and whooshes play against an orchestral wall of sound. It sounds like raking across piano strings and sustained notes from the lowest bass end of a grand piano. Trapped travels even further into the darker regions of space and the atmosphere the duo creates is intense and even a bit disturbing. More cool sounding "piano"work. This is what Major Tom experienced when he lost all contact with Earth. Tunneling is an ambient space journey, but includes a lot of walking and opening and closing doors. Is space a big house with its own rooms that you can explore? It feels that way.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled is quite different from the other tracks but no less cosmic. A drugged jazz combo collage tune lead by a trumpet (a Roland Gr-1 guitar synth) and accompanied by bashing wah-wah bass, wild percussion, and assorted other sounds that make this a bit jarring relative to the previous tracks. An avant improv tune that shows a different, and sometimes humorous, side of Fingerpaint.

Smith and Geest are creating some really interesting music running guitars through their various "toys" and have produced a collection of creative space soundscapes in the process. However, this is not standard floating electronica as there is far more happening in terms of sound, atmosphere, and themes.

The Fireman — Rushes

(Juggler Music 1998, 7243 4 97055 2 4)

Jerry Kranitz

It's a pleasure to know that Paul McCartney is still interested in sound and pure musical possibilities not having left all that behind in the 60's. That's right. This is Paul McCartney. This is, in fact, his second release under the Fireman moniker, though you won't find his name anywhere on the CD or liner notes. I actually had no idea this existed until a friend played it for me recently. The music on Rushes is dreamy ambient music that mixes lots of wild space sounds making it a bit more adventurous than most ambient recordings.

The disc opens with Watercolour Guitars. The song starts with a repeating acoustic guitar melody embellished by various shooting star space synths. The synths temporarily take over and then the song blends right into Palo Verde. The melody doesn't change at first, but the pace picks up just a little and includes lots of little voice samples, our only concrete hint of McCartney's presence. The music is very laid back and, though they are prominent, the subtle little sound textures are easy to miss.

Auraveda opens with an Indian motif. Sitars, tablas, and chanting create a dreamy Eastern atmosphere. It's hard to describe but I also hear those played backwards synth sounds heard so long ago on Magical Mystery Tour. But these are only embellishments. Soon the Indian theme drops slightly into the background as it's joined by a minimalist organ sounding instrument.

Fluid is another dreamy piece that actually sounds like an old Ash Ra Tempel track. The guitar sounds very much like Manuel Göttsching and is combined with similar Ash Ra electronic excursions. Bison is one of the shortest, but also one of my favorite tracks. Jazzy rhythms, a dissonant guitar melody, orchestral space keys, mellotron, and the now trademark voicing make for a cosmic stew. 7am is another ambient Ash Ra type electronic tune, again with mellotron sounds providing an eerie orchestral background. And McCartney's voice, for the first time, pops up briefly with no effects.

This is music that would typically relax the listener, but there are enough extra touches that you just can't help paying too much attention to be relaxed. To those who are surprised by the existence of this McCartney project, bear in mind that this writer of silly love songs was also experimenting with music and sound back when all our favorite space pioneers were getting started as well. I searched the internet for information about this project and all I could find was discussion list archives in which participants did nothing but try to find hidden meanings in the songs. It figures... Note that this should be very easy to find in your local record store.

Soundscape Gallery — Volume 3

(Lektronic Soundscapes 1999, LS-1013)

Jerry Kranitz

Soundscape Gallery is a series that presents original music by electronic musicians from around the world. Volume 3 offers tracks from Dutch musician Ron Boots, Tim Story, French/German duo Temps Perdu, Loren Nerell, Dwight Ashley, Dean De Benedistis, Stratosphere, Thomas Ronkin, and the great Hans-Joachim Roedelius. The music in the series is typically atmospheric though the first two didn't overly excite me. Volume 3, however, aroused my interest with tracks that are more minimalist and develop in their own simplistic yet interesting ways.

Among the highlight tracks are Temps Perdu who offer a deceptively subtle composition. Atmospheric washes fade in and out throughout the piece as the sound of rainfall looms in the background. The liner notes say they combine synthesizers with acoustic world instruments though this track doesn't seem to feature this other instrumentation. Loren Nerell is similar to Temps Perdu. A pulsating drone is the focal point of this piece which is embellished throughout by bells and chants. The drone is like a meditative ohm that allowed me to close my eyes and focus on the music, but not quite relax.

Dwight Ashley and Tim Story team up for an atmospheric backdrop embellished by a variety of sounds. The backdrop is like angelic horns or bells and the setting is - depending on the listener - either heaven or space. Dwight Ashley also has a solo track that moves into a spacier realm much like Lektronic artists Spacecraft where much is happening, but in this case it may not all be good. Ashley creates an atmosphere of tension created by carefully placed sounds and musical voices.

The liner notes provide good information on the artists and all are uniquely experienced in their field, with their respective fields often venturing into various other media.

The Surprise Symphony — The Surprise Symphony

(Blackberry Records 1998, CM 00316)

Jerry Kranitz

The Surprise Symphony plays valium-paced drifting psychedelia that is dark and haunting in atmosphere, and quite intriguing due to the varied instrumentation and thematic development. This is drugged psychedelia that kind of plods along so you really have sit back and relax to enjoy it. The CD liner notes contain absolutely no information on the band and an internet search turned up nothing except that there are common members with the bands Magic Island and Damien Youth.

What I hear is electric and acoustic guitars, bass, drums, piano, synths, and I think I hear mandolin, sitar, and cello. The vocalist sometimes sounds like Daevid Allen during his more laid back moments, but mostly he sings VERY softly. The cello on several songs appears to be where the symphony part of the band's name comes from because it certainly does make the band sound like a small chamber ensemble. It sounds like this may be some kind of concept album as there is a clear sense of development to the music which weaves in and out of various themes.

The disc starts off with the cello playing the lead melody while a drugged guitar plucks away and is later joined by the mandolin. Throughout the fifteen songs we move through Eastern influenced psych played on sitar, and encounter various overture and transitional pieces. Much like a symphony right? For example, between "regular" songs we get tracks like Promenade with it's wild sounds and crazed laughter, and The Symphony Has Started which features a carnival atmosphere with bells and organ grinder rhythms.

My favorite track is Untitled (Love Song) which is the most animated the band gets. The singer wakes up and the music takes on a trippy early 70's Amon Düül II meets Pink Floyd quality. Synths are introduced and there is a tasteful early Floyd-styled guitar solo. Two very nice piano based tunes are Very Lovely Girl and Hang On To Your Dreams which are like the other more plodding tunes but just seemed to grab me more than the others.

In summary, The Surprise Symphony's music isn't particularly interesting unless you listen to the disc as a whole. Otherwise you'll miss all the changes in mood and atmosphere and be left with just individual trippy psych tunes. Still, the band has certainly produced something a bit different to offer psych fans.

The Dark Aether Project — Feed The Silence

(self-released 1999, DAP2)

Jerry Kranitz

My first exposure to the Dark Aether Project was seeing them live last year the evening before North Carolina's ProgDay festival. I recall enjoying their brand of mostly instrumental, Discipline-era King Crimson influenced progressive rock, but not being overwhelmed. And I really didn't like the vocalist that joined them occasionally throughout their performance. I never heard the band's debut CD, but their newest release shows a vast improvement over my experience with the band last year.

The style varies across the CDs six tracks but is primarily instrumental with only occasional vocals. The music is dark atmospheric progressive rock bordering slightly at times into psychedelia. The promo material states that "highly composed music is balanced with equal parts improvisation" and this is apparent while listening to the music. The band consists of Adam Levin on Warr 8-string guitar, keyboards, and loops, Yaman Aksu on guitar and Hammond organ, Brian Griffin on drums (replaced after this recording by Allen Brunelle), and Ray Weston on vocals. Adam Levin is a mover and shaker on the prog rock promotional scene being involved in the Baltimore Progressive Rock Showcases at Orion Studios which have also included a number of SpaceRock shows and mini-festivals.

Burnt Sunrise is one of the tunes that has a slight psychedelic edge, due in part to the presence of the Hammond organ. Actually the Hammond is included in a context not typically heard making the music difficult to describe. Over nearly 13 minutes the music doesn't develop much but journeys along at a steady pace that kept my attention throughout. During the last few minutes, however, things get quite interesting as the guitar and Warr Guitar duel steadily along with the synths. The Discipline-era Crimson influence lurks just a bit in the background but isn't as prominent as it is on other tunes. Stages is a tune that could almost have been an out-take from the Discipline sessions. It's an interesting track though as it alternates between this style and the band's own sound.

Nightmare and Building The Worm are my two favorite tracks. Nightmare maintains a tribal war beat throughout the song and includes a gorgeously screeching guitar sound that gives it an acidic quality. This is one of the vocal numbers but Ray Weston's role seems to be secondary to the music on this track.

Building The Worm is a duel Warr Guitar track with Adam Levin and Markus Reuter of the Europa String Choir. Partly a Fripp-styled soundscape piece the duo create gorgeous ambient guitar music against a spacey background. This is the shortest tune on the disc and I would have liked to hear the pair take this tune a bit further.

Feed The Silence is Weston's one shining moment on the album. The track starts off pretty laid back but then launches into an intense song with Crimson guitar patterns and Ray's powerhouse singing like the old echolyn days. The final track, Out Of The Dark, is from a live performance. It sounds like a spacey ambient version of a mid-70's era Crimson improv, though the Crimson sound gets stronger as the song goes on.

Though I love Ray Weston's vocals I still think that this band was meant to be a purely instrumental outfit, but Ray by no means detracts from the music. Overall a fine effort and I'll be looking forward to my next live experience with Dark Aether Project at this year's ProgDay festival.

Hallucinogen — Twisted

(Twisted Records 1999, TWSCD 5)

Jerry Kranitz

Hallucinogen is a one man electronic project consisting of Britain's Simon Posford. Twisted is a re-release of his first album from 1995. I'd not heard of this but grabbed it when I saw the title and psychedelic cover in the record store. The only information I've dug up is from the internet but it seems that Posford is a sizeable figure on the electro dance trance scene. This is hard driving music that one stays up all night and dances to at raves. It does get tiresome, but a lot of AI readers may want to check this out as much of the music reminded me of a dance version of Ozric Tentacles.

To his credit, Posford has created something beyond mere electro dance, but only a few tracks really stood out for me. LSD starts out with a conspiracy monologue about LSD and then launches into a strong Ozric synth pattern but against a powerful dance beat. Voices are scattered throughout the tune giving it an eerie psych-trance quality. There's a good focus on developing the music rather than it being only for dance purposes. I'm not well tuned into the rave scene but this is clearly a step beyond the standard incessant beat-driven electro dance stuff.

Shamanix gets a bit more into cosmic space-rock territory. There's a Middle Eastern sounding melody line, and more of those wild voicings, one screaming "I'm on fucking FIRE!" And the varied synth is a bit more creative and not just noodling on this track. Feuoro Neuro Sponge is another track that sounds like a heavy dance Ozrics tune. Hell, Feuoro Neuro Sponge even sounds like an Ozrics song title. Perhaps they were an influence on Posford?

The rest of the disc is a little blander. Posford is attentive to his synth embellishment but it's mostly noodling. The closing track, Solstice, has about ten minutes of silence at the end and then there's a few minutes of ambient psychedelic electronics and chanting. An interesting end.

The website discography for Hallucinogen lists a fairly extensive discography, but while there are parts of this album I liked I'm sceptical whether there would be much of anything different on the other releases. Still, I'd be tempted to attend my first rave to check this stuff out live.

Saunabadh — Saunabadh

(Foz The Dwarf 1999, FOZCD001, CDEP)

Jerry Kranitz

Saunabadh is a new heavy rock trio from Finland and this is 3-song, 16 minute CDEP is a tantalising taste of things to come. The band consists of former Kingston Wall bassist Jukka Jylli, Janne Lehto on guitars, Esa Lilja on drums, and Jessica on vocals. The music is very much in the Kingston Wall spirit with guitarist Lehto clearly influenced by Petri Walli.

Saunabadh is a bit more on the metallic side but when Lehto takes off he can shred big time, and on Frankly, my dear... he blasts into a great psych jam. Jukka Jylli's presence is prominent with he and drummer Lilja making a potent rhythm section. Jessica's vocals fit the music well, but she wisely stands aside when the band goes into a jam.

It's hard to tell from this short introduction but it sounds like we've got a follow-up to the great Kingston Wall that isn't a mere copy. Indeed Saunabadh seems to have taken the spirit of KW yet established an identity of their own.

The Echo Orbiter — A Moment In Life That's Right

(The Looking Glass Workshop 1998, LGW-001)

Jerry Kranitz

The Echo Orbiter is a New Jersey based trio that plays 60's styled pop-psych much in the spirit of Olivia Tremor Control. However, whereas OTC references the Beatles in much of their work, Echo Orbiter (to this listener's ears) sound a lot like a cross between early Syd-era Pink Floyd's songs and perhaps a dash of XTC. The band consists of Justin Emerle on guitars, keyboards, and vocals, Jeremiah Steffen on drums and vocals, and Colin Emerle on bass and keyboards. The twelve songs on this disc are from sessions recorded throughout 1996 and 1997.

The promo material states that the idea behind the record was "creating instrument layered music in the style that engineers and producers approached in the mid to late 1960's. All the backing tracks and overdubs were pre-arranged prior to these sessions". So though I'm using early Floyd as a comparison, The Echo Orbiter had a more all-encompassing style and era in mind. This intentional process is apparent in the songs as they are clearly well crafted. But don't let the well crafted remark imply that this is overly produced because the sound is just raw enough that I may have been fooled if someone told me this was a reissued nugget from the past.

Most of the songs have bouncy rhythms and lots of tempo changes. Organs and toy piano sounds abound along with a variety of guitar sounds. Wah-wah guitar is used for embellishment and there are no freakout solos here. The purpose is to assemble songs and all the cool sounds are individual parts of a greater whole. The dual vocals often harmonise and help to give the songs their raw quality. It works well. Excellent pop-psych from a band I was previously unfamiliar with. Recommended to 60's fans and the many who have discovered such music recently through bands like Olivia Tremor Control.

Maximum Coherence During Flying — Maximum Coherence During Flying

(In-Phase Records 1999, BEM01 CD)

Jerry Kranitz

Maximum Coherence During Flying (Maxco) is a Texas band playing a hard-to- describe progressive rock style that includes elements of space and psych. The band consists of Bottom Aholje on guitar, vocals, and keyboard, Robb Kunz on percussion and synthesizer, Bryan Manzo on sax and guitar, Michael Young on synthesizer, piano, and vocals, Sonya Shaw on vocals, and Torv on bass and electronic treatments. There are also nearly a dozen guests contributing an array of horns, wind, and string instruments. This is their first CD release.

The disc begins as a heavily orchestrated quirky rock opera style piece with the sounds of planes, and this is followed by a sort of vaudeville piano musical bit that slowly evolves into a spacey section with a nice guitar melody and interesting vocal harmonies. Actually the shifts thoughout are a bit abrupt and listening to the music implied that this may be something of a concept work. I asked band member Michael Young about this and he explained that the whole work is supposed to begin and end at an early 1900 air show, though all the songs are separate stories.

Starting with Jason Starfighter we get some cool freaky synth work and the guitar work, though in no way flashy, continues to appeal to me. The rock opera style male and female vocals (plus a robotic efx'd voice warning of annihilation) sing of Jason's fearlessness. The song finishes on a bit of a psychedelic note. Zoom is a cosmic instrumental journey that made me feel like I was in mission control when some mighty bad news was coming in. Lots of machine sounds, more robotic voicings, and wah-wah synths sounds. But Maximum Coherence During Flying shifts gears again and it becomes a song with what I found to be a gorgeous melody featuring Sonya's vocals accompanied by the wah synth. Crusade TV was a standout track for me, a cross between early 70's classical progressive and 60's folk psych. Man In The Speaker also has a bit of a folk-psych feel and a segment of guitar that sounds like The Beatles She Said, She Said.

Throughout the disc the band mixes a lot of freaky space keyboard work with extensive instrumentation, varied vocals and harmonies, and beautiful guitar work throughout. Maximum Coherence During Flying's style is difficult to pin down but I would recommend it to AI readers that like adventurous forms of progressive rock. It's a little uneven at times, but they've certainly created something different.

Mandir — Out Beyond Ideas

(Satsang Music 1998, SM02)

Jerry Kranitz

From Montana, Mandir (the Sanskrit word for temple) play acoustic world music with a strong jazz influence. The band consists of principal composer Matthew Marsolek on classical and acoustic guitars, and vocals, Beth Youngblood-Petersen on violin, esraj (bowed sitar), and vocals, Lawrence Duncan on soprano sax, bassoon, and vocals, and Michael Marsolek on world percussion, didgeridoo, and vocals. One reviewer in the promo material described a large range of percussion instruments Michael uses, which is where I guess the term world percussion comes from. The various members have worked together previously in projects such as The Marsolek Brothers, The Matthew Marsolek Trio, and a continuing ensemble called Drum Brothers. Out Beyond Ideas is their first release as Mandir.

Mandir's music reminded me a lot of Shadowfax, and Matthew's guitar playing is like Michael Hedges without the pyrotechnics. This is spiritual acoustic music with excellent musicianship and is often quite jazzy. Songs like Waiting For Govindo and Going Quickly Beyond Time feature beautiful guitar and violin melodies embellished by Duncan's gorgeous horn. We even get a cool doot-in-doot-doot-doo jazzy scat in both tunes, and Matthew's guitar flies in the latter track.

Songs like Crossing The Divide, Sojourn, and Pastoral Dream really grabbed me in that there are no real words to the vocals. But the harmonies are gorgeous and serve to colour the music as if they were additional instruments. Ajatoma is similar musically but the lyrics are an ancient Sanskrit prayer. The horn melodies on some of these tracks are really key to Mandir's sound, as is the interplay between the guitar and violin. I also liked the cool jazzy piano solo on Flying To Varanaji. And the closing track, Gopala Bolo, ends things on a spiritually uplifting note with its feverish percussion and horn, Eastern influenced violin melodies, and the singing of an Indian holy song. In summary, Mandir should appeal to fans of Windham Hills' and similar labels more adventurous music.

Minmae — I'd Like To Apologize For Last Night

(Airborne Virus Records 1999, AV005, 7" 33.3 rpm)

Jerry Kranitz

Minmae is a California band that offers up three very different tunes on this 7" vinyl release.

I don't see any lineup info and it's unclear which side is which but the three songs are Universal Excuse Movement, F Being A Constant, and The Man Who Fought For Speed. I know that one member is Airbore Virus label head Thomas Sean Brooks as he's the one who sent me the disc.

The track that takes up all of one side is the one that grabbed me the most. It's a guitar driven noise psych piece that is harsh and aggressive yet manages to retain a floating ambient quality. One guitar is searing and feeback-laden while the other is soaring and melodic. I really liked the contrast.

The first track on the second side is similar but more of a sound collage that continually shifts gears from noise guitar, to dissonant but melodic strumming. The final track is more song-oriented being a raw acoustic vocal number. Not bad but the first track was the one that most aroused my interest.

El Kapitan — Haywire

(Koal Bin Records 1999, CDKB0022)

Jerry Kranitz

El Kapitan is a hard-driving industrial metal band with a bit of a techno edge. From New Hampshire, they are the two-man outfit of Kirk Bartholomew on guitars, bass, and vocals, and Marc Soucy on keyboards, samplers, and programming. The music rocks VERY hard and struck me as sounding like Chrome as a more keyboard based band if that's any kind of analogy.

Most of the tracks on this ten song CD feature a trademark El Kapitan metallic sound. Rainforest Serenade opens the disc with its rough techno beat, freaky sounds, and wild vocals. An almost stoner-sounding guitar provides the melody. The Wild Ride is a perfect title for the next song. This tune rocks hard. Keyboards join the buzzsaw guitar for a very interesting mix bringing the band a bit into heavy progressive territory. The song has a cool jam section too as guitar, bass, and keys trade off licks. Parts of this made me think of ELP as a metal band. My favorite track on the disc.

El Capitan, Snowrider, and Hey Y.R.U. are other heavy duty rockers that feature the band's penchant for near danceable metal. Jekyll To Hyde is an interesting tune with its techno, rappin', organ melody, buzzsaw guitar blazin' rock mixture. And Pay Me is the most overtly techno track on the disc, though it includes lots of freaky sounds and, of course, metal guitar to keep the whole thing rockin'.

Trail Of Tears and Mysteria stray quite a bit from the standard El Kapitan sound being far more laid back and unlike the other tunes. Trail Of Tears is actually reminiscent of older Pink Floyd and has a nice David Gilmour sound to the guitar soloing. Kittinkabootal is really different being an off kilter track that sounds like a carnival styled country hoedown. The Dixie Dregs on acid? Dig that barn dancin' violin sound. A good effort that will appeal to metal heads willing to venture into different, and sometimes dancable, territory.

Big Block 454 — I Changed My Dentist... I Changed Him Into A Horse

(Raspberry Records 1998, CD)

Jerry Kranitz

From Manchester, England, Big Block 454(BB454) are primarily the duo of Colin Robinson and Pete Scullion playing what sounds like an arsenal of keyboards, synths, samples, and loops, and guitar. The band claims influences including The Residents, Faust, Can, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Syd Barrett, Harry Partch, Bela Bartok, and Brian Eno. With a list like this you might expect a lot of zaniness and... you'd be right! The CD consists of 21 tracks, many of which are under a minute, and only three that are much over two minutes. The whole album is a collage assault and BB454 are creatively out of control in their use of 'turn on a dime' changes. Quirky synths, funky beats, and spaced out electronics are the order of the day as the band experiments with both pop styling and marginally accessible sonic experimentation.

It Takes A Vigorous Baboon To Stir An Enormous Pond has a low rumbling synth that functions as a 'feel it in your chest' bass with layers of techno beats that are wonderfully impossible to follow. Vector Analysis Can Be Fun features BB454 playing the blues in their own sick way. Ale & Cakes is most certainly Robert Fripp jamming with The Residents. And Danbert Nobacon Is A Slaphead is BB454's rockin' stoner tribute to Black Sabbath.

Does that all sound confusing? Here's some more... 17 - Day Shirt is a Can sounding tune with a funk beat, and by golly is that Damo guesting on vocals? This Is The New Typography is a schizophrenic indecision between whether to be heavy techno rock or an acid rock freakout. And on Learned Bride Thrice Fools Bridegroom BB454 take on beat jazz and poetry monologuing.

Big Block 454 retains their sense of humour and fun throughout, and after digesting the album and crazed song titles I was convinced that a squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag can indeed be fast and bulbous. Got that?!

The Geeky Dorks — My Pussy Hurts

(Slutfish Records 1999, SLUT017, 7" 45rpm)

Jerry Kranitz

Well this is an interesting package. The cartoon cover depicts the records title comically and quite graphically. I figured it would just be some hardcore stuff, but then Keith noticed Dino Sorbello's name in the lineup playing Theremin and we're suspecting this is the same Dino Sorbello from the psych band Laughing Sky.

Well there certainly is a slight hardcore edge to the music but it's really heavy psych with female vocals that are part whining and part spoken word. Side A with My Pussy Hurts, features some great wailing acid guitar. The vocals simply go on about the singers pussy, which really must hurt because she doesn't let up about it. But lyrical nonsense aside, her singing style fits the music well. This is a real psych freakout with a bit of fuzzy metal guitar thrown in for good measure.

The B-side track is The Geeky Dorks Are Ugly and is a bit more on the rockin' side though the band maintains the psych edge. I found myself intrigued by the Geeky Dorks after several listens to this single. This is their first release and I'll be interested to hear what they do next.

Char-El — Worlds Without End

(self-released 1997, HDCD 2096)

Jerry Kranitz

Based in Fostoria, Ohio, Char-el is the moniker used by electronic artist Charles Thaxton. Thaxton plays ambient meditational electronica that quietly explores the hidden nooks and crannies of the cosmos. Worlds Without End brings together ten years of work on his first CD release as Char-el.

Though this is Char-el's first release, Thaxton has been playing since 1970. He explored that era's progressive rock but was also influenced by electronic pioneers like Tomita, Larry Fast, and, or course, Tangerine Dream. Though Worlds Without End is firmly in the floating ambient electronica mold it seems that these influences have provided Thaxton with enough of a background in musical adventure that the music never descends into mere New Age fluff. Thaxton's background also includes the mid-80's Tangerine Dream influenced band Voyager which enjoyed some regional success in Arizona where he was living from 1981-1989.

The music on Worlds Without End has a strong symphonic quality and I'm sure this would appeal to both ambient space fans as well as the prog rock crowd. Music of this nature likes to stretch out and explore so it's not surprising that the longer tracks like The Ascending Light, On The Run, and the title track are the most enjoyable. Not that the shorter tunes don't have good ideas, but this is music that takes you by the hand and leads you to new places. The journey is always better than the short jaunt.

Of the shorter tracks, however, I think I liked Aurora best. It's a quiet ambient song much like the other tunes but I liked the way it wound down during its last couple minutes by building in pace but avoiding any change in intensity that might have jarred me from my trance. And I think AI readers would like the title track the best. Lots of freaky synth bleeps and blurps seem to represent numerous obstacles on this particular journey making for a little more adventure than I found on some of the other tracks. Prog rockers would probably like Heart Light best as it sounds like a spacier version of Camel or Steve Hackett's lighter moments. Recommended to electronica fans looking for inventive meditational music.

Roye Albrighton — The Follies Of Rupert Treacle

(Rupert Music 1999)

Jerry Kranitz

For those of you who were starting to think the much discussed Nektar reunion is a bust we've now got evidence that Roye Albrighton is serious about releasing new music in some form. Roye's first solo album is, if I'm not mistaken, the first available recording since 1983's Grand Alliance project. I always considered Nektar to be one of the 70's most exciting bands as from one album to the next they managed to do something new without losing that indelible Nektar sound. And their album, Journey To The Center Of The Eye, is a classic that should be part of any serious space-rock fan's collection.

Roye's new album is a laid back affair that may not appeal to many AI readers. But if you're also a general prog rock fan then here's what we've got... Rupert Treacle is a collection of beautiful songs that remind me of Camel, Anthony Phillips, and even Sting at times.

Roye plays all the instruments, but note that while there is some really nice guitar playing the focus here is on the songs. The man has been around a long time and shows here that he can whip out a lick that may be a fill, but is a gorgeously tasteful one that serves to embellish the song as a whole.

Roye utilizes keyboards and synths to help give it all a full band sound. He even includes of cover of Roy Orbison's It's Over, which I didn't recognise but Debbie did. I'm playing the disc and she's saying she knows the song. I'm insisting she can't cause it's all new stuff. Then I took a peak at the liner notes. Good call Deb. It's nice to see that Roye is back and, for those who didn't know, he is recovering from a recent liver transplant.

Star Period Star — Jet Propulsion Mystery Summer

(Self-released, 1998)

Jerry Kranitz

Star Period Star asks the power trio concept to step outside and proceeds to kick its ass all over the parking lot. This is high energy, give 'em a straight jacket rock music that struck me as a combination of Massacre, Dr Nerve, and Thinking Plague. Sex Pistols acid kosmische? I see they even split a 7" release with Cheer Accident and I do hear similarities to that band as well. The urge to throw in 70's King Crimson is a strong one, but that just doesn't give you an idea of what this band is about so forget I even mentioned it. So hell, you may not be able to make heads or tails of the analogies but if you've figured out that this is manic shit that defies description then I guess I'm doing ok. The band is based in Illinois and consists of Alex Perkolup on bass, guitar, and vocals, Dave Rosato on drums, percussion, and vocals, and Dan Sweigert on guitars, samples, piano, and vocals.

The disc opens full-blown. No buildup. Waiting For The Fireworks establishes the band's trademark of maddened guitar and bass, BOTH playing a lead role, and everywhere-at-once drumming. The vocals are somewhat punkish but mostly RIO artsy. Reminds me of a male Susanne Lewis. The players really jam, though the music has too much direction and purpose to be improvised, but I may be wrong. The best parts are when the bass is off on a high tech run while the guitar sends glass chips and shards of metal flying everywhere. Take cover! 94.3 is a similar tune and is very much along the lines of Thinking Plague and 5UU's though Star Period Star are far more aggressive. The guitar gets a bit liquid psychedelic in segments though this is more of an embellishment than an actual psych exploration.

At Laughing Distance goes in a slightly different direction. Still a violently aggressive tune it has a jazzy feel, kind of in a warped Zappa way. There's loads of varied guitar work here and the rhythm section continues to shine. To say this music is busy would be a serious understatement. Undivided attention is required for maximum appreciation. Foo Co. Spend Julam is the track where the King Crimson comparison is unavoidable. It's got a heavy Lark's Tongues/Red sound but is still distinctly STS. The final track, Sad Road Villa, takes a complete 360 degree turn sounding like a lost acoustic echolyn track that didn't make it on to Suffocating The Bloom. Quite an easy landing after the roller coaster ride on the previous five tracks.

Star Period Star aren't really a space-rock or psych band but fans of heavy space-rock who like a good dose of instrumental complexity should definitely check these guys out. My highest recommendation.

Cloud — Blunt Shade Artcore

(Semper Lofi Recordings 1999, CD)

Jerry Kranitz

Cloud is the latest project from home taper Michael J. Bowman who has been releasing music under the moniker MJB for over ten years now. Blunt Shade Artcore is an all instrumental collection of creative pop, space, jazz, and... well just about everything really. I hear guitar, bass, drums (real ones), and various keyboards, all of which I gather are played by MJB.

The music on Blunt Shade Artcore runs the gamut from nice guitar/piano melodies like Full Portrait Jerry Chest Tattoo and The Total Blam-Blam to spacey atmospheric electronica like No Sides Now and Norway Is The New Zealand. And on He's Drowning I found myself asking if this was an old Soft Machine outtake. Wow!

But Cloud also has its own idea of what pop music should sound like. Sunset is a raw percussion-heavy dittie for those who appreciate a good noisey toe tappin' tune and know that a little dissonance is essential to creating real pop music. Every Great Action Hero Needs A Sidekick is kind of like the soundtrack to an old 60's movie or TV show. Not that I can think of an example or anything. Percussion-heavy again and lots of piano and organ creating a cool melody. One of my favs on the disc. On Upon Discovering The Lair Of The Secret Beach Boys Fans MJB again displays a flair for catchy melodies. This could just as easily have been referred to as Bonzo fans as much as Beach Boy fans. Other highlights include Finger Turn Me On which is just a tad bit acid-rock poppy. Actually it's a collage of several styles. And The Eternal Flame Takes A Permanent Vacation is a jamming pop psych tune.

Lower East Side Stitches — STAJA 98 L.E.S.

(Ng Records 1998, 20033-2)

Jerry Kranitz

Ok, this is not space-rock folks. This is punk. I've always liked punk but have never followed it and am no authority. So I can only go by whether it's just a lot of screaming nonsense or if it's good high energy rock.

And yes, L.E.S. Stitches rocks out and the boys (two guitars, bass, drums, vocals) certainly seem to care about, and have a good sense for, melody.

A lot of the songs remind me of the old Ramones and New York Dolls tunes of the 70's, which I have fond memories of. My runaway favorite tracks are Rustic City and Could Just Die which grabbed me first listen.

Lyrically it's standard angry young man stuff. "Well I got up Monday morning but I'd rather stay in bed, Me head's in the toilet brain bashed again, Working sucks so does school, I'm being pushed but I ain't no tool". But that's ok cause I'm just head bangin' to the music.

Cowbrain & Saw — Re-

(Self-Released 1997, Cassette)

Jerry Kranitz

Cowbrain & Saw is the solo project of New Yorker Ron Anteroinen, with vocalist Chrisa Yfantopoulos on one track. All instrumentation is synths and samples and Ron does a good job of creating varied sounds. Anteroinen is a song-writer and the songs are the focus here. But what makes the music so interesting is Anteroinen's dramatic Peter Hammill-influenced vocal style and the dark atmospheric, sometimes quirky music that backs his songs. I don't want to get readers too focused on the Hammill comparisons but Anteroinen does clearly attempt to sound like Hammill. However, the only other comparison is the lyrics. Musically, a distinct CB&S sound does emerge as the tape progresses.

One of the attractions and strengths of these songs is the focus on vocals as well as music. Anteroinen likes vocal harmonies and utilises multiple layers of his own vocals on several tracks. Turnings features him singing against a kind of sequenced á capella harmonized background.

Ever Changing is like an avant-garde barbershop quartet. And on Winter his Hammill vocals are joined by what could be various ethnic choral groups. Mozambique is one of my favorites with its quirky raw African percussion and synth-produced trumpet. Despite my focus on describing the song-oriented nature of CB&S this is actually some pretty wild and difficult-to-describe stuff. Very interesting home taped music and a solo project worth checking out.

The Rabbit's Hat — Pierce The Dark

(Stone Premonitions 1998, SPCD 004)

Jerry Kranitz

The songs on Pierce The Dark mix a variety of styles making The Rabbit's Hat difficult to pigeonhole, though I would describe it as jazzy melodic progressive rock. The band consists of Terri~B on vocals, Tim Jones on vocals, guitars, and programming, Steve Ellis on keyboards, Norm Emerson on drums, Rabbit on bass, and Martin Holder on guitar.

The album's strength is well-written songs and lyrics, and Terri and Tim's wonderful vocals are the focal point. Terri has a gorgeous voice and Tim has a distinct voice which I suppose could be compared to Phil Collins. The two harmonise well and their style is soulful and at times quite dramatic giving the music a unique sound.

Songs like We Got Rot, Sweetmeats Of The Dead, and, especially, Dead Starfish give front and centre stage to these energetic singers, and these are among the tunes that rock out the most. And on Baird, My Soul Terri takes on a high pitched Nina Hagen sound. The band gets more overtly into light progressive rock territory on songs like Darwin On The Shelf and Hiatis, with Hiatis standing out with its Middle Eastern percussion and melodies.

Body Full Of Stars — Falling Angels

(Stone Premonitions 1997, SPCD 003)

Jerry Kranitz

Body Full Of Stars is a related project sharing members with The Rabbit's Hat. Terri~B, Tim Jones, and Martin Holder are joined by Mark Dunn on vocals, drums, percussion, bass, and keyboards, Paddi Addison on drums, and Paul Ellis on keyboards. Like The Rabbit's Hat this is very song oriented and is not unlike the songs on that album. The main difference is the rhythms on Falling Angels are more world music tribal, and the soulful tunes have a strong bluesy edge. Also, Martin Holder's guitar prowess is featured prominently throughout the album.

Songs like The Quaking House and Rainbow Water-Snake Demon are like African vocal/percussion songs but with a slightly jazzy edge. The vocals are great and Quaking House features gorgeously tasteful soloing from Holder. Much of the album is in this style.

The Women Come Singing and Slave Labour are interesting tracks. The former has a driving percussion beat, but it's very quiet and kept in the background, contrasting with what is really a soft vocal number with new age-y wind instruments. Slave Labour too has this percussion beat but with rapping vocals. Other standout tracks include Jump Up!, a soulful tune along the lines of an old Spencer Davis Group or Joe Cocker song. Paranoid Conspiracy and Jump Up Again both feature ripping blues solos from Holder. Overall two well crafted sets of songs.

Parallel or 90 Degrees — The Time Capsule

(Cyclops 1998, CYCL074)

Keith Henderson

Here's another modern group whose intention it is to further blur the lines between progressive, psychedelic, and electronic music. Whereas most of us open-minded music fans will favour this approach, the danger is that militant prog purists might gasp at the ambient and trancey bits, and the lo-fi space punkers might balk at the thought of a perceived 'clean and sterile' sound. Oh well, their loss. Po90° is a fine band, and I think Time Capsule is a little stronger than their 1997 release Afterlifecycle (CYCL060).

The first two-thirds of the album are chock-full of quirky tunes that mix laid-back semi-acoustic passages with more energetic choruses that are sometimes dark and tension-building (Encapsulated) and other times are uplifting and trancelike (Unforgiving Skies). The Sea is probably my favorite individual song, a more subtle dreamy piece not unlike Sky Cries Mary... perhaps the simplest tune even, but it works to sooth the inner soul. This spirit is continued in Blues for Lear, though it turns a little 'loungey' and hence comes across a tad schmaltzy. The Single rounds out the individual tracks, an energetic but predictable tune, though I do admire the band's commitment to 'truth in advertising.'

The highlight of Time Capsule is the 22-minute title suite, made up of eight individual parts including reprises of motifs heard earlier in the album. My initial impression was cynical, given that 'side-long' epics can hardly be considered anything but formulaic by now. So in my mind, I challenged it to do something for me, and eventually it succeeded. The cool spaceborne rhythmic jam The Sea Returns made me perk up a bit, which was just the set-up for the excellent Thousands of Suns, Myriads of Stars, growing slowly from ambient space with additions of bass and percussion, eventually leading to a final non-invasive trance rhythm outro.

The following piece, appropriately titled Piano Solo, brings forth the type of circular runs that Cyrille Verdeaux mastered on old Clearlight albums of the 70's. Another nice touch. All in all, this suite is everything that Fish's Plague of Ghosts should have been. His pairing with the remix duo Positive Light on that track just didn't succeed where Po90° has here.

Because the songs are generally well-written, and because the musicians and vocalist (Andy Tillison) are solid, you can't go wrong with Po90°. I'm certain that someone has already labeled the band, "Marillion meets Pink Floyd" at least once, so I don't feel responsible having quoted it. I know they happen to be fans of Porcupine Tree, and I might be persuaded to agree there are some similarities, but I do think Po90° have some original charm. Oh, perhaps The Time Capsule has a few redundancies and would work better at 50 minutes rather than the full 72, but I still have yet to cut them off mid-verse.

TeleVoid — TeleVoid

(Miramar 1998, VHS-NTSC, 21043)

Keith Henderson

TeleVoid is an interesting entity - what I guess happened is that two musicians (guitarist/keyboardist Paul Speer and Queensrÿche drummer Scott Rockenfield) petitioned a slew of computer animation gurus around the world to submit vignettes on various sci-fi themes. And then they went to work writing and recording music to act as a soundtrack...or perhaps vice versa. Whatever the case, the duo (with producer/director Michael Boydstun) have produced a pretty cool video game that even plays itself! There is a loose association between the 11 separate 'tracks' based on the particularly boney character Skully, but the hour-long video comes across more as many individual parts rather than a coherent story.

The music of TeleVoid sounds much like Queensrÿche (not surprisingly), though with a strong ambient flavour due to the frequent synthesizer use. Visually-speaking, things get off to a wild start (Murder or Self-Defense) with the "pinky ring," a gauntlet of protruding fingers impeding our progress down some "tunnel of doom" no doubt. As the Telespy, we're asked (without actually having to participate... a couch potato's dream) to covertly fly our spacecraft into enemy territory and destroy a particular complex, or so the computerised female voice instructs. (Of course, we succeed.) The music shifts from spacey ambient stuff to hard-rockin' guitar soloing as we exit hyperspace into the theatre of operations. Pyramid Passage is a real highlight - a brighter, more melodic piece drifting by as we fly amongst Egyptian landscapes. Chasing Blue Sky is straight from the Queensrÿche ballad factory, and even guest Blue Jay Saunders' vocals imitate Geoff Tate perfectly. After the Mad Doctors of Borneo do a bit of brain surgery, we receive some dark, Stephan King-type imagery amidst tension-building incidentals. Finally, Sir Mix-a-lot makes an appearance rapping to the hip-hoppish Mind Suck, where the evils of technology are demonstrated and we see bizarre animations of scissors and spinning cybernetic eyes. Freaky.

You can imagine TeleVoid as a heavy metal version of the movie Tron. Along the way, the quality of the animation varies a great deal, as it appears that both amateur and professional artists submitted material. (The credits take some time to wade through.) I would imagine that most space rock fans are sci-fi/fantasy buffs, so perhaps this will give everyone something to watch after Babylon 5 goes off the air. Recommended for a rainy day.