This group's latest album is a slowly evolving narrative of sorts concerning cyclical transcendental matters, as evidenced with song titles like "Beyond Belief (The Wishful Thoughts of a Pain-Free God)," "Surviving the Fanatics," and "Nod If You Were the Last Man Alive." Even when some of the songs take an inevitably gloomy turn, the journey is still intriguing and sufficiently bizarre.
Beta-lactam Ring
Scot Solida's spacey electronics and guitars contributed by a musician named Har form much of the backbone of the album, with additional support from a few other players. Solida tells the story through a combination of shorter tracks and epics consisting of several disparate sections that are deftly layered so that they flow together naturally. I like this album, but I do wish that Solida would cut loose a little more. From reading the list printed on the jacket of the vast array of equipment used in this recording, I expected it to get pretty wild in places and was surprised with the amount of restraint exercised here. The title track heads in an untamed direction but stops short of the sensory overload I had anticipated. "Modulating Between Faith & Knowledge" also takes a step in that direction with its exploratory electronics, but it peaks early and drifts during its second half. Perhaps the somber subject matter keeps things at an even keel. Even so, the pace is fairly uniform throughout the disc, and I wouldn't have minded more of a dramatic shift or two in places. Nevertheless, it's an intriguing album with impeccable production and well worth the effort of settling in to unravel its mysteries.
