Seismic Cry: Fleeting

Seismic Cry is the brainchild of Montreal based musician Philippe Gaudet. Seismic Cry's new CD Fleeting is their third album, their last being Reverence, released in 2006. Helping out Gaudet (voice, keys, guitars) are Tony Sharkey (voice, spoken word), Mathieu Poirier (v-drums), Mathieu Catafard (percussion, cymbals, v-drums) and Anne-Sophie Mongeau (saxophone, flute).

On first hearing Fleeting I was mightily impressed making this album a rather nice surprise especially since this is the first I have heard of the band. The music of Seismic Cry is not very complex but make no mistake, this is a very nice album. Some of the influences I hear are Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel and Mike Oldfield.

The album begins with the dream-like "Once Upon A Dream". The playing is somewhat gentle over distanced sounding vocals, although the sound is quite thick and lush. It is the slow deliberate pace that allows the music to seep through your skin.

The opening guitar in "More Of You" has Gilmour written all over it and the lead vocals have a Water's quality. The flute is a nice touch, enhancing the melody and adds to the addictive nature of the music.

On "Far From Me' there is a melancholic post rock feel while on the mellow "Floating" the drums quietly build in the background and the violin sounding synths are spot on.

The progressive sounding pop of "Atonement" is another highlight as the dense heavy rhythms turn to quieter interludes, then build up again.

Two touching pieces end the album, "Like Cleopatra" and "Happy Endings", both featuring pretty melodies and excellent guitar especially in the latter, where slow building rhythms, delicate passages and beautiful orchestration are deserving of your attention.

Fleeting features excellent vocals, nice melodies, rich orchestrations and strong songwriting. Progressive rock fans should take heed, Seismic Cry has come out with a real winner here.

Track Listing:
1. Once Upon A Dream (6:35)
2. More Of You (6:25)
3. Holiday (3:48)
4. Far From Me (4:26)
5. Polaris (6:11)
6. Floating (6:35)
7. So Short Goodbyes (3:28)
8. Carnival (6:46)
9. Atonement (5:55)
10. Like Cleopatra (2:15)
11. Happy Endings (10:41)

Added: January 15th 2012
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's MySpace Page
Hits: 2163
Language: english

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