“Passenger’s Log is next, so we won’t worry too much and try to describe that instead. Oh Christ on a bike, its 15 minutes long. ”
“Passenger’s Log is next, so we won’t worry too much and try to describe that instead. Oh Christ on a bike, its 15 minutes long. ”
The Seven Mile Journey – The Journey Studies
Oh golly these titles… Through the Alter Ego Justifications, Passengers Log, The Unity Fractions, Theme for the Oddmory Philosophies, The Murderer/Victim Monologues. Someone’s been at the dictionary again.
And with titles like these it’s obvious that the first track, Through the Alter Ego Justifications, is going to be a moody slow burner. I also get the feeling that this LP is a live “performance” and as such tracks will go on for a considerable amount of time. Still. A mournful guitar plods on and on over (what must be) the desolate landscapes of the frozen tundra. Things speed up slowly and another guitar adds texture and tone, before we are suddenly whisked off on a quick jog that just gets a leetle faster. Quite what this very monotonous track has to do with Alter Ego Justifications is beyond this poor sap of a reviewer though.
Anyway, Passenger’s Log is next, so we won’t worry too much and try to describe that instead. Oh Christ on a bike, its 15 minutes long. Well, for the first 4 minutes we have a mournful guitar, with increasing amounts of another guitar, and then the soft padding of some drums. It all breaks down again for a few minutes, only to build up again, albeit with a snakey guitar run. Only to break down again, only to build up… You get the picture. Theme for the Oddmory Philosophies starts with piano and a heartbeat-sounding rhythm, which helps, as do the attempts at harmony by the two guitar parts. It’s a more satisfying listen anyway. We return to the long Murder/Victim Monologues, (only 15 minutes to go kids!) a much more gentle and harmonic affair than previous, and one which is considerably easier on the ear. The build up is better managed this time it has to be said; a piano mercifully injecting some needed impetus and tone into the track. By the end, things get quite frisky, with pattering drums and chiming guitars. It’s almost as if the band themselves are relieved it’s all over.
Words: Richard Foster.