Pryzme is a progressive rock band from Rennes, France. In 2021 they released their strong debut album Four Inches (see review). An album on which the two founding members Dominique Blanchard (guitar, vocals) and David Chollet (guitar, vocals) got help from Maxence Marmieysse (bass, vocals) and Gabrielle Duplenne (drums, vocals). Now four years later the band is back with a new album on which the rhythm section is replaced by Benoît Toquet (bass, vocals) and Lucas Planque (drums, vocals). But it didn't change their musical sound as True Stories... And Other Lies is a strong follow-up to their debut. Once again the four musicians managed to come up with an album on which they have an excellent mix of progressive rock, jazz fusion and pop melodies. The most important fact might be that they don't have a keyboard player in their line up and you hardly miss it in their strong compositions. However it doesn't mean you can't hear any sounds which are related to synthesizers. Because occasionally I do hear something in their music which is related to this instrument like on Reality Of Dreams, Never Again and Silent Place. Therefore I think somebody in the band is playing on them but it isn't mentioned on the album. The bands strongest points are the perfect harmony and lead vocals next to the excellent (twin) guitar parts. With two guitar players in the band they strangely enough never move towards a style which can be labelled as progmetal, hard rock or metal. The album contains seven compositions on which they mix complex parts with simple parts very well. Therefore I do think that two singles Earth Song and End Of The Anger are well chosen. Because they don't contain too complex musical parts so can be used for radio airplay to promote the album. Their compositions are characterized by craftsmanship and rich contrasts. There are many dynamic differences. The music is sometimes subtle and sometimes powerful. It's all available. Above all the music is very melodic, playful, exhilarating and extremely skillfully performed. Not only music wise does the band knows how to attract the listener. Also the lyrics have a deeper meaning. They have lyrics on themes such as ecology, anger, confusion in the face of tragedy, and the dream of excellence. These are fragments of life that are both deeply personal to the band members and reflections of universal human experiences. This is where the album's title comes in. It suggests that our stories can sometimes be seen as lies by others. My musical highlights are the earlier mentioned End Of The Anger, Green Eyes and the epic piece Silent Place. But in general you can say that all of the seven tracks are of a high musical level. True Stories... And Other Lies is a worthy successor to Four Inches. The band can therefore be very proud of what they've accomplished on this magnificent album. The seven album tracks showcase a band in top form and are therefore highly recommended to many lovers of progressive rock. I can honestly telly you that I wasn't bored for a single moment during this hour-long album. Therefore highly recommended! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
