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"Between jazz and progressive, "Artificial" is a new musical summit for Unitopia, a band that is now a must in the progressive scene."
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5/5
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After two acclaimed albums, Unitopia has become a reference in the too small world of progressive music. Too small, because their music is of such a variety, that it should be able to touch far beyond the progressive ears. So, with this third album, whose gestation period is much shorter than its predecessors, what did Sean Timms and Mark Trueack, the two thinking heads of the band, find to surprise and win the listeners' support?
To begin with, it should be said that Artificial is a concept album ... The subject remains both vague and vast, since it deals with the dichotomy between the real world and an artificial world that Man has invented for himself, and his ability to pass from one to the other. This being said, let's give way to the music of this album which is broken down into 10 tracks in a row, once again tackling varied fields and full of surprises.
The first of them finds its place in 'Nothing Lasts Forever', a Beatles tribute track, linking one after the other the references to the music of the Liverpool band, even taking up some of the most famous "verses" (Come Together!), before an orchestral finale of the most beautiful effect. For the rest, Unitopia's music continues to evolve from jazz to the purest progressive, through Alan Parsons Project (The Great Reward is similar to the titles that usually close APP's albums, like Same Old Sun for example). All this is served by outstanding musicians, with a new rhythm section that is very efficient. The saxophone interventions and the support of the percussions also bring a very personal colour to this musical atmosphere, which has been the band's trademark since its beginnings. Mark Trueack's vocal performance is once again breathtaking, with a timbre reminiscent of Peter Gabriel. And when he's accompanied (for example in Gone in the Blink of an Eye), the vocal harmonies remind us of the greatest masters of the genre.
But what marks most at Unitopia is the accuracy and precision of each note, each chord: everything is perfectly in place, nothing is superfluous or incidental, and this while keeping intact the emotion that flows from each track. The top of the album is the longest and the most progressive track: from the top of its 13 minutes, 'Tesla' goes back to the flights of fancy of 'The Garden' with varied themes, enchanting melodies, musical and symphonic choruses simply incredible and generating shivers at each listening, and a final able to become a real anthem (We Are our Parts of the Whole!), of which we can already imagine the power that would result from it in concert.
You will have understood it, "Artificial" is a new musical summit, and the numerous listenings necessary to the realization of this review have been nothing but pure happiness and a pretext for many shivers along the spine. How beautiful music is when it is declined like this! - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Suffocation (1:40)
02. Artificial World (5:42)
03. Nothing Last Forever (5:31)
04. Not Human Anymore (5:22)
05. Tesla (13:21)
06. Reflections (3:18)
07. The Power Of 3 (1:22)
08. Rule Of 3's (4:10)
09. Gone In A Blink Of An Eye (5:49)
10. The Great Reward (6:38)
LINEUP:
Jamie Jones: Batterie
Mark Trueack: Chant / Percussions
Matt Williams: Guitares
Peter Raidel: Saxophones
Sean Timms: Guitares / Claviers
Shaun Duncan: Basse
Tim Irrgang: Percussions
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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Top of the page
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(0) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
4.3/5 (17 view(s))
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STAFF:
4.3/5 (7 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH UNITOPIA
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