Speechless: Time Out Of Mind

A good review always has - at its heart - a one-sentence summary that enables the reader to understand the style of music under discussion - and the rest of the review embellishes that description.

Sorry, but with Time Out Of Mind, you won't get that pithy little summary. Can't be done. There's a bit of everything here, yet it doesn't slot into any pigeonhole, and it defies comparison with other artists.

Speechless is an Atlanta-based foursome that came together - partly - from the ashes of an occasional group that played Kansas cover tunes, called the Southern Wheatheads. But this record gives few hints of those origins - and Speechless now plays hard-edged progressive music with a bit of fusion influence, a bit of symphonic rock, a bit of Yes, a bit of Kansas, a bit of Dixie Dreggs, a bit of Return to Forever ... and a lot of heart, and no vocals. We once described it as "...a potpourri of rock, progressive music and fusion, and above all, each song gets into a head-nodding groove that drives it through its constant shifts and rich melodies". One band member said "Groove is what taps a toe, what bobs a head, and gets people listening. I call it Groove Oriented Instrumental Rock." Another band member said it was "...like soundtracks for short films yet to be made", and later, said it had "a jam band feel ... heavy rock, basically ... rock, metal, jazz, funk, reggae, pomp, world, avant and more."

Get the picture? This music is hard to describe.

The band comprises the standard rock band ensemble - keyboards, guitar, bass and drums - and the thing that stands out most about Speechless is that no single instrument stands out any more than the others. They share the limelight in equal measure in the compositions, in the mix, and in the band members' contribution to the songwriting. From the excellent opener "In The Clouds", to the deep groove of "Something Green", through the wailing guitar sections in "Stella", to the breath-catching melodicism and rich 'Tron-like choirs of "Spidercrawl", this record will catch you by the throat and for 50 minutes it won't let go until the somewhat abrupt ending of the 9-minute mini-epic "Vader's Boogie" drops you like a stone and leaves you panting for more. This music is alive and energetic, with few really quiet moments. It is impressive yet unpretentious, melodic yet complex, modern yet true to the '70s origins of prog.

The cover art was courtesy of Will "Inkenstein" Renfro, and it is as complex - yet cohesive - as the music it illustrates. In fact the band says Renfro has been officially dubbed their 'fifth member'. Production is solid and the mix yields crystal clear separation of each instrument, yet it avoids that in-your-face style that plagues so many modern prog acts. Click here to read our in-depth interview with Speechless, in which all four band members describe the making of Time Out Of Mind.

It's a fairly safe bet that almost every segment of the progressive music community will appreciate the tremendous musicianship, the refreshing upbeat tones and the wonderful grooves they'll find on Time Out Of Mind. It will have equal appeal to fans of metal, symphonic, fusion, and 3rd-wave prog. But beyond that - don't ask us to describe it. You'll just have to hear it yourself.

 

Track Listing:
1). In The Clouds
2). Spidercrawl
3). Stella
4). Thank You
5). The Big Majestic
6). Something Green
7). Spaghetti Junction
8). Hangover
9). Vader's Boogie

Added: February 20th 2007
Reviewer: Duncan Glenday
Score:
Related Link: The Band's MySpace Site
Hits: 3921
Language: english

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