Vietgrove is an interesting progressive duo operating out of the north of England, with half a dozen independent cassette releases and a pair of proper CDs to its credit. Its one constant member over the last decade and a half of being Britain's self-proclaimed "most obscure band" is keys/synths/programming wizard Norman Fay. Since the early 90s he has been partnered with guitarist/bassist Mark Bailey. This creative collaboration has released two albums, and is currently at work on a third.
From the first notes of Mark Bailey's guitar as the opening piece entered, I felt something familiar, as if I was being carried back in time to the mid 70s. Part of it is certainly Bailey's tone, which evokes memories of classic prog axemen for whom sound and the contribution to the atmosphere of a piece was far more important than flash. "La Casa Sul Lago Della Luna" announces immediately that Vietgrove will walk the fine line between spacey electronica and the pastoral end of the early Genesis catalog. If anything this piece suggests what an instrumental Genesis, sans drums, might well have sounded like, with Bailey's chiming picked guitar parts taking the role that is often left to annoying synth pads in more traditional electronica combos.
In the second tune Bailey asserts a much more Froese-ian guitar sound, drawing on influences as wide ranging as early Gilmour and Froeling (SFF), while Norman Fay builds a bed of melodic synthesizer and mellotron strings parts (samples?), and one of them provides programmed drums, creating an ersatz SFF/heavy Tangerine Dream feeling. It is here that we see a possible chink in the band's armor emerge, because the drums have a very "drum machine" feel and sound, and are not convincing. Still, such a track would not have been out of place on an early Genesis album, or even something from the early catalog of Sensations Fix, as it moves from lightly textured mood to prog rock crunch.
A very short guitar interlude serves as a third piece, leading into "Villa Flora" which reminded me of 70s Mike Oldfield, only with much more fluid, almost jazz, guitar work. At the tune's mid-point Bailey hands over the lead duties to Fay, who steps up with a very delicately textured solo. From there on out to the end of "Villa Flora" Bailey and Fay trade lead duties, adapting and mutating the dialog, coming together to state harmony and then counterpoint, cleverly dancing around each other. The programmed drums work much better here, deftly nudging the piece to its end.
It is the fifth composition, the massive prog tour-de-force "In Nos Aetas Ultima Venit?" that one will determine if one is in or out with regards to Vietgrove. If there's a time to pull all the stops out it is on this 20 minute behemoth. Perhaps because of the jazzy rhythms (or what passes for jazz in proggy electronica) the drums seem less obtrusive, while also being more involved, driving the piece forward, preventing it from ever lagging. There's a lot of space in the quiet sections, allowing the duo to create very dreamy textures juxtaposed against blistering heaviness. Again this is not unlike SFF, delving deep in to the pool of European cultural-memory melancholy. Despite Vietgrove's electronic music background – which rears its head in the tasty sequences Fay deploys -- this is the tune on which they come the closest to flying the "we got your prog right here" banner. Without mimicking Steve Howe, Bailey suggests him and the patented Yes-style in places with his tight rhythm guitar work. Likewise Froese, with his meaty, dirty lead guitar tones. Towards the end of the piece Vietgrove manage to successfully evoke the feel of late 60s psychedelia, with droning key and guitar effects, before a final magnificent coda steers the ship towards a black light port of safety. "In Nos Aetas Ultima Venit?" is a major composition, conjuring images in my mind of desperate hours, tense rear-guard actions and numerous lost "somethings"…whatever they might be. Definitely a put your feet up, headphones on, hit replay affair.
As with many bands operating on the border between progressive rock and progressive electronica, many of these tunes could serve as soundtrack music. Perhaps the best example of that on the album is the delicate, atmospheric, "The House on Moon Lake", which then shifts gears into the up tempo almost swing of "'Felix Culpa'". Some of Bailey's most authoritative guitar work is showcased here, including some deft harmonies. Unusual in an electonica context is Fay's understated, yet highly complimentary, acoustic piano part, which ably supports the guitars, adding a bit of starch in the way synthesizers probably would not. Pushing further into a post-Oldfield meets Anthony Phillips lyricism, this is perhaps the most satisfying piece on the album, suggesting again the tantalizing idea of an all-instrumental early Genesis. It also shows that both Fay and Bailey have the chops to play in a flashy manner, but chose only to do so for effect, and then rarely.
Finally, the official part of the album closes with another lengthy "just how prog can we make our electronica" workout entitled "The Concerts of the Pleiades". Once again Fay and Bailey's knack for creating delicate, slightly sorrowful melodies that they can share in is put to good use. This tune easily maintains the high standard of the earlier long-form tunes, but is perhaps even more satisfying because it exits with the idea left on the table that it still had more to say.
Two bonus tracks – demos or alternatives, if you will – are added to flesh things out. Interesting what-might-have-beens but really superfluous to the mood created by the album proper. Having tried to harness a bit of funk spirit in my own work I am sympathetic to Vietgrove's experiment "Vietgrove Play Phunky Musick". Let's just say that there will be few calls in the dance halls for these intrepid lads to get down "on the one". Of greater interest is the alternate ending to "The Concert Of The Pleiades". This works very well, but I think Fay and Bailey made the right choice in the ending that they elected to use.
To summarize my experience soaking in this excellent album, I would guess that this is a big leap forward for the group. The time that it took to deliver the album, plus the maturity of the compositions suggest that Fay and Bailey have become very serious about what musical statements they want to make, and how the whole package is presented. That this album was made using 8 track technology is most impressive. It has the feel of a much bigger budget production. Except for that infernal drum machine. It never so much as threatens to sound real, and is the only less than stellar move made throughout 70+ minutes of artfully crafted, superbly articulated ambient-prog. Call them ambient-Genesis, quiet-SFF, or rocking Tangerine Dream, Vietgrove are clearly one of the foremost purveyors of active-ambient electronic music operating today. Nothing on this disc falls into the trap of snoozey-valium-ambience, and for that they should get a huge round of applause. My only real criticism (other than the drum sounds, and that's subjective taste) is that they flirt too much on the longer pieces with letting them stick around longer than necessary – some of them could have been tightened up a hair -- and they walk close to the recycling moods and tones edge. Other than these YMMV observations, this is definitely a major effort that deserves wider exposure.
Track Listing
01. Las Casa Sul Lago Della Luna (7:55)
02. Cydonia (8:09)
03. Mark's Interlude (:51)
04. Villa Flora (7:12)
05. In Nos Aeta Ultima Venit? (20:00)
06. The House On Moon Lake (3:04)
07. Felix Culpa (13:51)
08. The Concerts Of The Plieades (11:52)
bonus tracks:
09. Vietgrove Play Phunky Musick (2:24)
10. alternate ending to The Concerts Of The Plieades (3:00)
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