Bak: Flower

An Australian duo offering up what they describe as ‘Ethno Prog’, Bak are a Middle Eastern inspired, but still progressive rock act. They themselves suggest ‘Tool doing Disney’s Aladdin’ as an apt description and while not entirely accurate I can see where they are coming from.

All of which doesn’t stop the Flower EP from being a release of two halves. “Too Soon� opens with themes coming to the fore that you might find in Oriental Metal; swirling strings punctuated by exploding drums. The more pensive creep of “Life And Perception Pt.1� heads into the more ethnic music side of things, however, by mid-track a howl of guitars erupts into a slow steady riff and burst of brass that is much more grandiose. “..Pt.2� builds on the theme, revealing a Devin Townsend like chant and chunk-a-riff that unveils a different intention altogether. In many ways what’s come before now feels very much like foreplay. Although by the time the song winds through a much more melodic and harmonised vocal twist you have to be impressed by the breadth of ground covered. Closer “Dasha Hara� booms and boings on tabla drums and the sting of what sounds like sitar, although you can’t help but feel that the actual execution is much more Westernised. With a male vocal dancing over this backdrop the mood becomes intense towards the song’s conclusion.

In all honesty I’m not 100% convinced that Bak blend the disparate styles on show quite as masterfully as they’d like, with the impression that you are often only hearing one side of a two part story hard to shake off. Flower is however an interesting indicator of what could be to come.

Track Listing
1. Too Soon
2. Life & Perception Pt. 1: Existence and Experience
3. Life & Perception Pt. 2: Through Blind Eyes
4. Dasha Hara

Added: December 15th 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Flower @ bandcamp
Hits: 755
Language: english

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