I take you in the country of Kangaroos with the progressive rock band 'Pixel & Sound' which was created by 'Reece Denton' and 'Daniel Mckittrick' and who released their first studio recording 'Sentimentalism' in February 2021 with various guests including keyboardist 'David Eaton' and guitarists 'Douglas Skene' and 'Dean Bennison' of the neo-progressive group 'Anubis'. In a style between pop and rock, 'Sentimentalism' is a concept album based on the personal story of 'Reece Denton' who tells us about his journey after losing his father when he was about to enter adulthood and it is 13 tracks very disparate by their length which goes from one minute to a long development of more than 20 minutes for a total duration of 80 minutes, which are offered to us.
After the short and quiet acoustic 'Take Flight' which begins the opus with beautiful vocal harmonies, 'Break' unveils a light atmosphere that brings us back to the progressive of the 70s with a catchy melody, then, 'Good Morning Melody' continues with acoustic guitars which lead the dance in a relaxed atmosphere, the vocal section being well in keeping with the playful and limpid style. With 'Kinshipwreck', the tone hardens slightly with a more marked progressive search, the calm sung part in a slight crescendo arriving at the end of the title after a long energetic instrumental part, then, 'Five Months Later' shows a melancholy face with a magnificent melody which is very pleasant and which offers beautiful vocal sections filled with emotion and instrumental accompaniments bringing a very particular sweetness (very beautiful guitar solo 'Gilmourien' in the second part). Follows 'The Sleeping Song' which continues in this way with a slow tempo in the first part which is completely in phase with the title and which delivers beautiful alternations of intensity and rhythm in the second part, then, 'The Release' takes over with a short, uncluttered composition, the acoustic guitar/vocals duo exhaling a remarkable sweetness. Change of scenery with 'Cancer', more energetic with a less easily accessible construction, then, 'Eye of the Storm' returns to a calmer atmosphere by highlighting the singer 'Sarah Vella' in a semi-acoustic ballad with a crescendo in the second part which falls on the end of the title. 'Growing Symptoms' then continues with its 21 minutes and develops a progressive composition with drawers, the changes of intensity and tempo being numerous which obviously requires a few successive listening to draw all the richness, the last part being a pure moment of happiness with this final crescendo which progresses slowly and which falls back quietly in a magnificent duet acoustic guitar/voice. The end of the album takes us through the short instrumental 'The Uplift' with beautiful deep bass, then, 'Opportunity' which is again a remarkable track which offers a magnificent vocal duet between 'Reece Denton' and 'Sarah Vella' which brings a real sweetness and whose final guitar solo of 'Douglas Skene' (which I would have liked even longer) is very beautiful, the whole giving off a very particular emotion, and, the spotify version adds a rather short bonus track, 'Like in the Movies', which deploys a pleasant crescendo with a tempo that gradually accelerates, the vocals of 'Reece Denton' becoming more and more powerful.
In summary, the Australians of 'Pixels & Sound' are releasing a very good album which combines an imaginative progressive with accessible melodic lines and remarkable vocal harmonies and 'Sentimentalism' should appeal to a whole audience who loves soft and melancholic atmospheres in this style of music... | |
