Edison's Children is a project or band, initiated by Pete Trewavas and Eric Blackwood. The first one is a fairly well-known name in progressive rock; being Marillion's bass player and also, a member of Transatlantic and Kino. Another memorable album I would like to recall is Iris'CD Crossing The Desert made in 1996, where Pete played the bass and I still like very much. The first time both of the musicians were thinking of a duo album was in 2006, when Eric played Steve Rothery's guitar during a sound check and Pete joined him on stage playing the keyboard. On In The Last Waking Moments Eric is mainly the lead vocalist and Pete only takes the lead in one song. Both of the musicians play guitar, bass and keyboards and split the programming parts as well. The help on the album came from one of Pete's band mates; all members of Marillion play some parts in several songs and guitarist and the album's mixer Robin Boult also plays on one track. When you see the band names above, it could be easy to stay in the safe zone of music you are familiar with, but Pete and Eric's music doesn't walk the road of convenience-they chose a new path-one suited best for the voice Eric has. Edison's Children made a dark and atmospheric album, with lots of ambient kind of references. When you hear Eric sing in Dusk, A Million Miles Away or Fallout, you will hear the dark and emotional power, which even has some edges of Nick Cave. Closer towards progressive rock is a song like Spiraling; combing Blackfield kind of vocals with a smooth acoustic guitar and a majestic guitar line by Steve Rothery finishes this song off as one of the highlights of the CD. The title track has a slight electronic base with an acoustic guitar that flows into a powerful part towards the end. Fallout's second part; Fallout (Of The 3rd Kind) is a very pleasant song with the constant sound of a prominent bass guitar in the back. The diversity of the guitar sounds (for both of the musicians have a different sound) combine great together. The “Other” Other Dimension has Mark Kelly as guest musician he provides the song with a trademark synth solo. The one song that doesn't suit the album is the one that has Pete as a lead vocalist; Outerspaced. Almost sounding like AC/DC's Bon Scott, his screaming voice takes down a song that could have been great; the roaring bass and heavy guitars are very cool, but the vocals make me want to skip the song. Edison's Children took the chance to drift away from the music Pete Trewavas normally plays with his existing bands and the outcome is a nice, dark album with ambient vocals and still powerful instrumentation. Eric's vocals are relaxed and give a nod to the gentle songs of Aviv Geffen in Blackfield. Pete's vocals are a bit of a downer to me and not quite representative of In The Last Waking Moments as a whole, but it is still a promising new project. Read our interview with Pete Trewavas and Eric Blackwood: link ***+ Pedro Bekkers (edited by Robert James Pashman) Where to buy? |
