For those who are familiar with the Canadian top bands Huis and Mystery, the name Johnny Maz is a well known one. He is the regular keyboard player at Huis and occasionally fills in for Mystery during performances. Both bands mentioned are among my big favourites and when Maz and his band Code 18 released their first album Human Error! (2020) I was very curious about the result. I had, and still have, mixed feelings about this album and that was due to a number of things. I didn't always think the vocals were that strong, the guitar work couldn't completely convince me and there were quite big stylistic differences between the tracks. The latter was a big advantage for many, so there is a point of discussion, and that is only good. Let's see if there are any important developments in terms of personnel policy with regard to the new album Two Places. Of course, Maz himself is responsible for all the keys, and there are many, and almost all compositions, so that's the first constant factor. Also in terms of vocals little has changed, Ben "Bönz" Plamondon is again the vocalist, except for the first track Prelude, because here Sylvain Descoteaux (Huis) sings and the fourth track Alors Je Cherche where Daniel Lacasse speaks in French. And in terms of consistency it is also good because the guitar parts are again played by JF Remillard, no guest appearance by Michel St-Pere this time like in the great Drought from the first album. Even more Huis influences because the great Martin Plante plays the drums, the bass is in the hands of Bobby St-Louis. As expected, Two Places is another album that is dominated by keyboards and that Maz can play wonderfully is no secret. He plays solos, wall-to-wall layers of keys, but is also responsible for the many dark atmospheres that sometimes result in unruly and chaotic eruptions. Certainly, there are several guitar solos on the album but they are often a bit restrained and rarely jubilant or whining. That Maz is not averse to jazz influences can also be heard in several compositions and sometimes even very dominant. Compared to the bands mentioned, the music of Code 18 is much more diverse and that sometimes works out well but not always, at least in my opinion. If you look at the mentioned influences, ELP, UK, King Crimson, Vangelis, Morse Code, Tangerine Dream, Genesis etc., you can indeed hear something of everything. The word that often comes to mind when listening to Two Places is whimsical, sometimes melodic but often contrary with unruly melodies. After the beautiful start with Prelude, beautiful guitar work, Polyrhythmm is a very busy and heavy piece that does not rely on melody. With The Old House we end up in the first longer song. In more than nine minutes in which the vocals only participate at the beginning, we are treated to long drawn-out keys, pure prog with nice guitar sounds. This is Code 18 with its prog jacket on and I like it very much. Then Alors Je Cherche "sung" in French is completely different, after a start with brass sounds from the keys, among other things, we hear a dark narrating voice against a jazzy piano background tell a long story after which a jazzy guitar solo leads us to a keyboard-dominated end. When you are looking for a striking title for a track, maybe The Lovers, The Incompetent And The Asshole is a good idea? Maz apparently thought so and this entirely instrumental song passes you by in just over ten minutes and shows all the features of Code 18 again. Sensitive piano, electronic passages and towards the end, chaos on keys. The following Moving In A Peach Nightmare is also instrumental and leans more towards the electronic greats as already mentioned in the influences. The album ends with two long pieces, A New Soul lasts almost fifteen minutes and here too the (distorted) vocals only play a supporting role and Maz goes all out on his keys and he does a really great job. Fans of ELP will love this track. Closing track Justice also has twelve minutes to take you through all the flavours that Code 18 has to offer. The vocals are not the strongest point and you can hear that here too, but the guitar solo is very beautiful, just like the delicious finale with exuberant keys and a beautiful melody. A worthy conclusion to an album with many faces that shows how talented Maz is, as a composer but also as a keyboard player. It's clear, exactly the feeling I had after the first album protrudes now. Great music with the occasional track that I'm going to skip, but of course that doesn't have to be the case for everyone. ***+ Erik Fraanje (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
