Renaissance Sound - II

There are moments that you hang to in complete anticipation.  The wait of what will be...or not. This was that album for me.

After their first album Renaissance Sound had left me with the hope of the future. Their self-titled really struck a chord with me about the boundaries of truly what math rock could be. To me..it was something that I had been waiting to run into through my years of searching. A group that could take jazz structures and heart but could still infuse that with the energy and sensibilities of math rock.

Which brings us to the second release, II. While I didn't expect ground breaking progression there are areas where I can safely say this improves upon the formula they've laid. It is clearly apparent that this group has only become tighter this time around. Compositions are practically teaming with twists and turns. While their first effort was a bit more relaxed this is a Renaissance Sound completely restless with creativity. Speed is certainly one of the areas that has been ramped up considerably. Instrumentally everyone has brought their A game (shocker) but im going to go out on a limb and say MVP for this one is the bassist. Ridiculous Ridiculous run's are everywhere on this beast. As well to say that some of the more memorable moments come from his melodic phrasing.

Enough analyzing really...because this is a solid gold hit right here. Its going to be a difficult one to unseat for me this year, just like last year. I'm relieved that they have taken their proven methods, expanded upon them and given us an incredibly dense jazz math rock record for our first quarter of 2013.

Stunner. All Around.

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The Psychic Paramount - II

It seems like too long since their last release but for most of these former Laddio Bolocko members this is their greatest to date. Lets get down to the run down. This is heavy psych like a cloud of electric smoke in your face on a moon filled night. By the way when I say heavy I mean HEAVY. From the first opening notes this trio will try to pummel your face against a wall. Structurally krautrock and drone loom their heads but its done so flipping loud and emotionally you never get the feeling of boredom.
II marks a special turning point for psychic paramount. Finding them in 2011 they have seemingly identified their strengths. Far from saying previous releases were bad but just II is that incredible. Its easy to see that the noise has been dialed back and this showcases just how varied this trio can really be. I've been spending an extended period of time as of late with II and can justifiably say that it gets better with every listen

II