Oddleaf is a prog rock band hailing from France and the band came to life in the early months of the year 2020 and now four years later Oddleaf release their debut album called: Where Ideal And Denial Collide. The richly layered music displays their love for symphonic progressive rock from the seventies; think Camel, Yes and King Crimson, blended with more contemporary prog bands like Big Big Train and Mostly Autumn. Most of the seven tracks are filled with "old-fashioned" keyboards (Hammond Organ and Mellotron), lots of flute playing and extensive four-part vocal harmonies. The Eternal Tree, a rather short song, opens this album, followed by Life, an eleven-minute prog beauty with lots of flute and keyboards. Ethereal Melodies, the single of the album, is next up and it is again a beauty of a song, featuring warm, emotional vocals and a soaring guitar solo near the end. The almost "colossal" track Back In Time is the highlight of the album; clocking in over fourteen minutes, this a is a prog rock rollercoaster with a couple of amazing instrumental passages and the pied-piper flute solos are really second to none. Finally, after an utterly boring superfluous intermezzo called Prelude, the listener is treated to an instrumental track that true Camel and Big Big Train fans will really love and appreciate. Where Ideal And Denial Collide is excellently crafted and produced and it is a listening experience into true progressive rock territory; indeed, so check this album out. Listening tip: Life. ***+ Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
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