'Dimitri Toonen' is a Dutch singer and multi-instrumentalist who released a debut album 'Leave My Mind Sometimes' in 2020 and it is with his new studio recording 'Sounds From Emotions' that I discovered him. He offers us a varied and sought-after progressive rock, often melancholic, with multiple influences in different styles of music ranging from pop to metal, rock and jazz.
After the short introduction 'Prologue: Fading movement' made of sound effects and some vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar, 'Decapitation' offers us around an energetic first melodic theme, multiple rhythmic variations reminiscent of the first 'Porcupine Tree', then, 'You Can't Change My Mind' shows a much more sedate register with very beautiful guitar passages, the second part having 'Floydian' influences. Follows 'Elusive Facts' which shows the same moderate face with jazzy peregrinations and some rises in tension bringing a nice variety of atmospheres throughout the title, then, 'Uncertain Future' is an acoustic jewel with a melancholy side reinforced by the violin of 'Cecilia Garcia' and cello of 'Lucas Argomedo'. With 'This Morning', the 8 minutes highlight a sought-after and inventive progressive in several drawers with multiple rhythmic and melodic changes and very beautiful variations of intensity. Return to harmonious acoustics with 'Music Will Bring Me Another Day' which is followed by the two long developments which again show all the compositional talent of 'Dimitri Toonen' with, first of all, 'When Nobody Likes You' which is certainly the richest and most intense title but the least easy to tame because it presents multiple ruptures and 'My Dark Passenger' which has nothing to envy to its predecessor and which again puts very contrasting atmospheres side by side with more accessible melodic lines. To end this very beautiful album, 'Epilogue: Moving on' takes us on an original sound tangle which gives way to a soft and relaxing part with a very beautiful marriage between the acoustic guitar and the strings and which ends with some soothing vocalizations with a hubbub in the background.
In summary, 'Dimitri Toonen' offers us a dense and varied new album which requires lingering to draw all the richness from it, which intends 'Sounds From Emotions' to an audience who loves a multi-faceted progressive allowing to wander in different styles of music... | |
