This is one of the bands who actually discovered me through my review work, and asked me if I was interested in writing an album review for their second album named Rise Of The Waterfowl. This was a pleasure to review, because these gentlemen made something quite brilliant. I love the album sleeve, the bright colours and the psychedelic look of it makes me curious...And the music fits the album artwork! Farmhouse Odyssey are from California USA, and the music itself sounds very summery. Sometimes it reminds me of a band named The Tea Club, but Farmhouse Odyssey's music is calmer and serene compared to them. It's progressive rock and fusion music, with folky and jazzy sidesteps. A track by track review for this album is kind of difficult, because some of the musical passages in the songs are hard to describe. Daybreak starts very dreamy with a guitar and some soundscapes. I love the bass that kicks in after four and a half minutes where the song starts to become more interesting and weird. Slumberless Sun is a slightly gloomy track and has a lovely Mellotron part halfway in. Brain Song is jazzy, and the guitar solo towards the end of the track is neatly done. Calligraphy has a nice rhythm and the guitars sound funky. Space Revealed is an instrumental song, and can really be categorized as fusion. The outro has some haunting moments, a very good drum solo and a guitar solo. Shipwreck is quite up-tempo with experimental passages here and there. Speedbump Catalyst is-at nearly 16 minutes-the longest track on the album, divided in four sections. After four and a half minutes the song opens up and becomes more vivacious and experimental, followed by a (solo) piano part, slowly dressed up with more instruments surrounding it. Most parts of the song remind me of Mike Oldfield and Spock's Beard's earlier music. This is my favourite track on the album. Safe Passage is only one minute long, and is a beautiful piano solo with some Mellotron in the background. From The Night Sky is a very gloomy and serene track, and becomes more energetic towards the end. There's a lot happening in the music, a lot of theme changes during the tracks, but they sound very natural. The production is very good, making this album very enjoyable to listen to. This is something you can turn on in the background because it doesn't need your full attention, and somehow you still follow the music. A recommendation! ***** Iris Hidding (edited by Robert James Pashman) Where to buy? |
