It had been six years since the French band 'Moonshine Blast' had released an album, their first studio recording, 'Reality Fear' dating from 2018. They are back with a new opus 'Realm of Possibilities', a generous 75-minute album. With the same line up, this time they have invited two artists who have played in famous bands since 'Colin Edwin' was the bassist of 'Porcupine Tree' for almost 2 decades and he is pursuing a solo career and participating in various progressive projects. Also present, the drummer 'Pat Mastelotto' who was a member of 'King Crimson' in the 90s. This latest baby shows an inflection towards more modern progressive rock flirting with the currents of the bands born at the end of the 90s, with the addition of electronic sounds, while keeping a solid base of guitar, bass, drums.
It is not possible to summarize 'Realm of Possibilities' in a few adjectives because the whole contains an extraordinary richness that must be tamed, little by little, listening after listening. In addition, we can say that the French have surpassed themselves in the diversity that each composition takes on: I will start with the two parts of 'Liquid Feels' which are the perfect example of this imaginative progressive that takes us on alternations of styles ranging from a pop atmosphere to the energy of a well-tempered hard rock through refined jazz/rock. This is also the case with the long development 'The Cell' which, starting in haunting atmospherics, highlights electro sounds throughout this title with the appearance of a procession with different faces, a title that I could see very well in an album of 'Steve, Wilson', due to this capacity of the French to explore new sound universes. This progressive well anchored in the present, we also find it in 'Fractal' with its contemporary melodic lines but also in the last title, the ballad 'When the Wind Blows' which, in a refined form, brings a beautiful emotional intensity with a very beautiful vocal duet. Other compositions add to this modernity a more immediate accessibility thanks to catchy melodic lines: this is demonstrated by 'Cruel Immission', highlighting an inventive rhythm section alternating numerous changes of tempo and intensity, but also 'No Exit' with its very catchy chorus, or 'Broken Arrow' which, after a light and delicate introduction, is a remarkable crescendo on a catchy rhythm which then explodes into a beautiful instrumental part. Alternately, other compositions bring a more direct approach, each keeping its own style: we can mention the title song that opens the album but also the short and catchy 'Only You', or 'Strangled' with its muscular hard rock side.
In summary, the French of 'Moonshine Blast', resolutely turned towards a modern progressive style, offer us a very beautiful album of great stylistic diversity and a formidable density that necessarily requires lingering to draw out all its richness, and which should please an audience loving progressive artists exploring new musical horizons, the first at the top of the list being of course 'Steven Wilson'... | |
