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Review:
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This is the fourth studio album that progfolk formation
Solstice released after their acclaimed debut album entitled
Silent Dance from 1984. In those days of the rise of the
neo-prog movement, Solstice was a bit of a maverick. You
will notice this if you listen to their contribution to
the compilation LP Fire In Harmony, a very tasteful and
interesting release. In fact Solstice is still a bit of
a maverick I conclude after listening to their new studio
effort Spirit (only featuring guitar player Anday Glass
as an original member). Because their pleasant and melodic
sound is an adventurous blend of several styles with a lush
instrumentation. The warm, a bit soaring voice of Emma Brown
turns out to be a captivating contrast with the harder-edged
guitar work (including frequent use of the wah-wah pedal),
often Jimmy Page comes to my mind. The violin adds a folky
flavour to the music but in combination with the powerful
guitar, I notice a strong jazzrock undertone (in the vein
of JL Ponty) like in Sky Path West, Flight and the long
final title track (that contains sultry sitar and a slow
synthesizer solo). A fascinating track is Here & Now with
wah-wah guitar and a violin sound that reminds me of Led
Zeppelin her folk rock adventures. In my opinion Solstice
has made an inspired and fresh sounding album that will
appeal to a wide range of progheads.
The DVD contains interviews and a concert from 2009
in which Solstice treats us on a pleasant blend of old and
new songs (in 2009 Spirit was a forthcoming album). The
atmosphere is good and the band plays enthusiastically and
.. always nice to see two women on stage (vocals and violin),
that is not very common in progrock!
Erik
Neuteboom
Progwalhalla.nl
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