With the same team of artists, the Canadian 'Rick Miller' releases a new album 'Unstuck in Time' after 'Delusional' in 2018 (the new cover has some similarities and the pastel tones image well the quiet atmospheres of the Canadian) and there are not many artists who will be able to say that they released two albums during this singular year 2020 because 'Belief in the Machine' was born in early 2020 and Rick therefore used the confinement period to cook up for us a new baby in this end of year that he qualifies, I quote him, " Progressive Rock. That term defining (in my opinion), the type of music that was made famous throughout the 70s by bands such as 'Genesis', 'The Moody Blues' and 'Pink Floyd'. The music is soft, dark and melodic with the occasional edge, because that's the way I like it.". We are therefore embarked on his universe with two long developments and other shorter titles, each in a rather specific style which makes it a very varied opus whose general atmosphere is meant to be calm and melancholy with beautiful melodic lines immediately assimilable.
First of all, the two long developments are in an atmospheric style with first of all the 12 minutes of 'The Plague' which is a composition with drawers beginning in a slow tempo reminiscent of the 'Floyds' and which leaves the place to a remarkable section which begins with the depth of sound of a cello and a Gregorian choir and which continues with an acoustic guitar joined by layers of keyboards in a strange and unreal atmosphere, then which returns to the starting theme with a magnificent guitar solo 'Gilmourien' to finish in acoustics, with a catchy singing of Rick and a beautiful instrumental part marrying wonderfully the acoustic guitar with the cello. As for the last title 'Unstuck in Time', it is based on the book 'Slaughterhouse Five' by 'Kurt Vonnegut' whose main character has detached himself from time and travels haphazardly through the past and the future. 'Rick Miller' takes us by the hand to accompany us on a quiet and relaxing journey unfolding a melodic theme declined in different forms and which in a way makes a ritornello, illustrating very well the theme of wandering and eternity and which ends logically in decrescendo. Sandwiched inside these two sumptuous long developments, 7 other compositions are offered to us with a melodic 'State of Emergency', the instrumental 'Covid Concerto' recalling the electronic sounds of 'Jean-Michel Jarre', the enigmatic 'Fateful Apparitions' with its very successful arrangements with disturbing sounds and its masterful final, the Hispanic 'La Causa' bringing a welcome lightness to the whole, the instrumental 'Lost Continuum' bringing a classical touch highlighting the strings , a flute and an acoustic guitar and unrolling a contemplative melody, 'In Sync with the System' with its electronic rhythm section of the 80s which can recall the first 'Alan Parsons Project' and finally the short' Broken Clocks', a bit on the same melodic theme as its predecessor but in a style symphonic a la 'Barclay James Harvest '.
In summary, this new album from 'Rick Miller' is still a great success and offers us almost an hour of progressive rock to listen to quietly with headphones while embarking on a beautiful and relaxing journey and if you liked the previous opus or that you like the formations mentioned in this chronicle, you will undoubtedly be seduced by 'Unstuck in Time'... | |
