Science NV - Pacific Circumstances


Year of Release: 2010
Label: self-released
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 68:58:00

Science NV are a quartet comprised of Rich Kallet on drums, percussion and drum synths; Jim Henriques on frets and keys; Larry Davis on frets; and David Graves on keys. That's the easy part. Trying to describe the results in a pithy manner - which I never am anyway - is the hard part. This is instrumental music that is a bit odd -- perhaps it's odd meters, perhaps is the different tones and textures used that give it that off-kilter, off-their-rocker like feel. Things never feel like they'll spin helplessly out of control, but that doesn't mean it doesn't sometimes seem like they're wrestling a bear. In a word, whimsical without being too silly about it. Kind of like, at least to me, French TV, Miriodor, etc. and yet I think more progressive rock than those two. And I'm digging it - maybe because I'm off kilter, maybe because it's damn good, or maybe both.

"Devil In Witches' Toes" is the most progressive rock-like of the album's tracks, with just a bit of that whimsy. It does shift from a northern European flavor to a Latin flavor. It's an energetic, rocking, fusiony piece. The pedal is down, we're at full throttle, and rocketing down the 101.* We find a smidgen of it in the most fusiony of the album's tracks, "Billy Burrough's Brain," which gets quite acidic, too (screaming guitars). It's harsh and not at all a friendly track (though likeable anyway). And closing out the album is another example of this whimsy, "The Ouroborus Variations," whereby we get 7 variations, moving from atmospheric, to pastoral, to keyboard/guitar rock. It's this latter part (starting 5 minutes in) that seems quite happy and cheerful, even as the guitar is razor-edged and sharp. We get bloops and bleeps, call and response between keys and the other instruments ... it's ELP-like without the moog (or characteristic mooginess). And, the band point out, for those liking odd meters, "variation 5" ("Fifteen 'Til Midnight") is in 15/8. And who can't find some whimsy in some serious and yet not entirely so "do-did-do"s in the middle of some very intense rock?

Certain elements, and not necessarily the prominent ones, seem to reference some classic prog rock figures, even as I think they're just coincidence. There's the tart moog that opens the album on "H1NV7" that references Keith Emerson, though it is soon clear it's Emerson on a bender (though later, at the 4-minute mark, it's piano jazz for a bit, then searing guitar fusion). Or the racing-heartbeat throb of bass on "Morning Jump" that reminds of me of Genesis' "Fountain Of Salmacis" (if memory serves, around the mid-point). add in searing guitar and you have some fiery guitar rock. It is, for the most part fusiony. It just chugs along at highway speeds (yup, it's a bassline tuned perfectly for tootling down the highway). And then at the 3-plus minute mark, it becomes an interesting percussion based piece, latin-esque, akin to Santana, but just that little something extra different. (Speaking of Genesis, Phil Collins also shows up a bit in the drums in the opening variation of "The Ouroborus Variation," a beat reminiscent of "Don't Care Anymore" - at least to my ears)

On the other hand, more than just a reference to Saint-Saens is here, as the band take on "Danse Macabre" and give it a RIO - avant-garde sound that at times made me think of Présent and at other times a more fairytale, ballet like feel -- a dark ballet to be sure... and yes, that'd be in keeping with the "danse" part. While I shouldn't and appear erudite, I have to admit I have not heard the whole piece in it's... I'll say "traditional arrangement," as to say original would imply I'm very old (and French) to have it heard in the 1870s, or that recording devices existed then (which I don't think they did...) that I would have heard that original decades later. In truth, it has probably been used as incidental or background music to something I've watched. So, I cannot say how much or little it varies from the "traditional" - except this dance of death seems awfully cheery.

"Conflicted" begins as if it might be a moody atmospheric piece, yet within a few moments, it becomes only moody - light piano and guitar tones conjoin for a delicate dance. This romantic moment is soon interrupted by something darker, energetic, palpable and bubbling with nervous energy. It is these two dynamics are in conflict and after the two sides are stated, they intertwine, not so much battling as struggling against each other for dominance. Halfway through, the darker nature explodes into a musical rage, slashing and writhing about. A violent tempest of crashing drums, percussion; pounded, yet parpy keys. Victorious, we get a feverish and almost cruelly taunting passage (blurting keys; off-kilter swirly keys, drums that march around as if skipping in elation. Victory is short-lived, as by the end of the track, these 3-3 �½ minutes implode, and our victorious mood is deflated. And yet, it leaves you, the listener pleasantly exhausted, which makes the following track the calming "antidote." While I didn't think it at the time, in proofing this... we might liken this also to uh... sex.

Just for a change of pace, and truly a drastic change of pace, there is the moody, low key "Quadrapole" - atmospheric, ambient, space rock with keening guitar, keyboard washes, strolling bass (strolling so slow, I'd say it's in slow motion). If other tracks are brassy and bombastic and make bold statements, this is, in comparison, drowsy. It would, as it happens, fit right in on Glass' Spectrum Principle that I just reviewed. Or, perhaps, early Tangerine Dream, as by the 5-plus minute mark, it really begins to feel like space rock. What the band say about this track on the "Production Notes" page of their website - "Musicians familiar with multitrack recording will be surprised to learn that there were no overdubs required after recording 'Quadrapole': this is pretty much what happened, without warning or planning, on February 15, 2009. Larry is playing bass, Jim is playing guitar and mellotron, Rich is using his Handsonic [...] and David is barely restraining himself with analog drones from his old JUNO-106."

Endlessly entertaining and I think something new to discover with each listen. Another thing that makes a quick review or overview a challenge. As of this writing, you can hear the music here.

*Science NV are from the San Francisco Bay area; the US 101 Freeway is a major route from there to Los Angeles. It's probably a far more interesting drive than say the US 5, which also goes from LA to SF, but takes you through farmland, so it's not exactly "scenic." I took the 5 a couple years ago going to Reno ... this CD would have made that drive much more interesting.


Tracklisting:
H1NV7 (9:09) / Danse Macabre (8:38) / Morning Jump (4:27) / Conflicted (10:49) / Quadrapole (8:44) / Devil In Witches' Toes (10:38) / Billy Burrough's Brain (3:46) / The Ouroborus Variations (12:30): I. Wreckage - II. The Soul Beckons - III. Swollen Ego - IV. The Soul Returns - V. Fifteen 'Til Midnight - VI. Personality Defect - VII. The Soul Rests

Musicians:
Larry Davis - electric bass, guitar
David Graves - keys, synth bass
Jim Henriques - guitar, keys, synth bass, percussion
Rich Kallet - drums, percussion, and drum synths

Discography:
Really Loud Noises (2008)
Pacific Circumstances (2010)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: May 9th 2011
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: www.sciencenv.com
Hits: 2523
Language: english

  

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