RPWL - Trying To Kiss The Sun

Year of Release: 2002
Label: SPV
Catalog Number: SPV 65172 CD
Format: CD
Total Time: 58:11:00

Acknowledging your influences is both intelligent and commendable; it's a sign of maturity and growth, personally and as a band. RPWL is aware of the comparisons to Pink Floyd, and they embrace that entirely. Lead singer Yogi Lang sounds like David Gilmour and Roger Waters combined with a distinctive foreign accent, and that is an advantage as far as I can see. Their sound is for the most part a mellowed out prog-rock with introspective lyrical content featuring intricate and continually developing melodic transitions in every song. Music like this has a tendency to grow on you even if you aren't a prog-rock enthusiast. It is music that could without difficulty cross over to top-forty radio while maintaining a strong position with the more advanced and selective progressive rock audience.

You are not going to hear layered soundscapes with thundering guitars, this is all has nice flow to it, dare I say ... a pop around the fringes sound. Although this group is surely talented enough to go any direction that they chose, I do believe that they will continue to evolve and become more interesting to listen to as time passes. There are some fiery guitar passages in "Sugar For The Ape" and "Tell Me Why" that are impressive, and reminiscent of some of the runs you would hear on a Marillion album.

All and all this is a very good album with many redeeming qualities. I would keep on eye on this group, their limitations are few, and they should have more solid work to offer their listeners such as this once they get back in the studio for their next project. I look forward to hearing more soon.

Released in Germany by Tempus Fugit (TF VÖ 07) and in North America by (the now defunct) InsideOut Music America (IOMA 2038-2)

Tracklisting:
Trying To Kiss The Sun (3:45) / Waiting For A Smile (7:04) / I Don't Know (What's It's Like) (4:32) / Sugar For The Ape (5:03) / Side By Side (8:35) / You (6:49) / Tell Me Why (5:08) / Believe Me (5:14) / Sunday Morning (4:29) / Home Again (8:52)

Musicians:
Yogi Lang - vocals, keyboards
Karlheinz Wallner - guitars
Phil Paul Rissettio - drums
Andreas Wernthaler - keyboards
Stephan Ebner - bass

Discography:
God Has Failed (2000)
Trying To Kiss The Sun (2002)
Stock (2003)
World Through My Eyes (2005)
Live - Start The Fire (2005)
The RPWL Experience (2008)
The RPWL Live Experience (2009)
Gentle Art Of Music (2010)
Beyond Man And Time (2012)
A Show Beyond Man And Time (2013)
Wanted (2014)
RPWL Plays Pink Floyd (2015)
RPWL Plays Pink Floyd - The Man And The Journey (2016)
A New Dawn (2017)
Tales From Outer Space (2019)
Live From Outer Space (2019)

The RPWL Live Experience (DVD) (2009)
A New Dawn (DVD) (2017)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin DE

Added: July 16th 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.rpwl.net
Hits: 2583
Language: english