As a big fan of the Polish Millenium and the man behind this band, and many other projects, Ryszard Kramarski, I was very curious about the album he made together with his son Michal Kramarski. Very appropriate but perhaps a little less original is the name FatherSon. We hear a lot of acquaintances, Krzysztof Wyrwa on bass, Marcin Kruczek on guitar and the album is mixed by Kamil Konieczniak (Moonrise). As with other projects, the lyrics are written by Zdzislaw Zabierzewski, guided by the ideas of both father and son Kramarski. The drums are played by, but mostly programmed by Ryszard. Is the music very different from his other projects? Yes and no, well that is not very clear but I'm going to explain. Yes, because we hear fairly compact tracks that have prog traits but are not really full of surprises. No, because the music of his other projects often balances between prog and more accessible pop as where Millenium is by far the most "proggy". Let me start by saying that son Michal has a very fine voice and sings in excellent English. Of course, Kruczek's guitar solos are also to die for. As the album progresses it becomes increasingly clear that we are heading more to the pop side because the tracks are all quite simple in design. Quality is certainly delivered because the level of play is more than fine. If we look at the titles of the tracks, it is clear that they are mainly about the relationship between father and son and the process of raising and growing up. Titles like Generation War or Time To Grow Up leave little to the imagination in that respect. Because the tracks are quite similar, it is pointless to discuss them all one by one. In terms of length, they are all around five minutes and often the electronic vibe is clearly perceptible and the percussive rhythm forms the basis of the song. Exceptions to this are, for example, The Girl Who Talked To Dolphins, a ballad with a wonderful guitar solo and a very beautiful melody. The tempo is low and the floating keyboards provide a beautiful background. I sometimes come across the term Progpop and that is how I would label this album but with the comment that it is more towards pop. Political Games is one of those songs that touches me much less and that is because of the rather boring build-up, verse-chorus-verse-solo-verse-chorus. This repeats itself in several tracks and so the consistency of the album is good but nowhere does it pinch or chafe and that makes it all very smooth. Where the tempo slows down a bit, the most beautiful songs often arise and Solitude And Sadness starts nice and slow and Michal's emotional vocals are really beautiful here. Yet the song also falls back into the aforementioned structure and the electronic rhythm pulls the life out of it a bit. Too bad because Kruczek's solo is beautiful again, but still making it one of the better tracks on the album. Closing track Father/Son is not really an adventure musically and the lyrics are a bit guessable, all pretty smooth. I miss the depth of (most) prog while I can also enjoy the atmosphere that is created. I also like the artwork on the cover, it is very AI but as the title of one of the songs says, AI is coming! As with all of his projects, Ryszard is a master in creating appealing melodies and we hear plenty of them. FatherSon provides a very pleasant listen but for those who expect more excitement in their music it is probably not quite their cup of tea. But you know what to do...listen for yourselves. ***- Erik Fraanje (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
