说明:
Bioscope – Gentō (2025)
Review by Paul Monkhouse:
When two of the quietly leading lights of Progressive Rock get together you can expect some strange sort of alchemy and so it is with Bioscope, the inspired pairing of Marillion six stringer Steve Rothery and Thorsten Quaeschning, keys player and band leader of German legends Tangerine Dream. The product of five years work, the duo’s debut ‘Gentö’ has been a labour of love that’s seen their worlds meet in spectacular fashion as the filmic mastery of Quaeschning meets Rothery’s heart-searing fretwork, the whole accompanied by Elbow drummer Alex Reeve’s versatile rhythmic percussion. Over five expansive tracks, Bioscope are in the world building business, the immersive quality of each number taking the listener on journeys through time and space full of wonder. This though isn’t a passive thing where all that’s possible is to just enjoy the ride, instead there’s a feeling of interactivity and shared experience as new sonic vistas are discovered and explored. As with the very best music, this connects to the soul and stirs emotions in subtle ways, its purely instrumental form uncluttered with lyrics that direct the emotions but instead lets the listener fill their own interpretation from each number. Certainly, there’s a framework here, the carefully crafted landscapes hinting at forms in the mist but the casually unwinding feel means that no two people will experience the same thing, mentally processing the whole in potentially vastly different ways. Best enjoyed either in headphones or diving into the totally absorbing experience of Dolby Atmos, there’s a lot to take in and though synapses light up like fireworks, there’s still the space to let everything breathe, eschewing the temptation to fill every nanosecond with another note or noise. Opening track ‘Vanishing Point’ is a symphony in itself, the longest track of the album as it stretches languidly out to twenty minutes. Imbued with a feel of dystopian sci-fi noir ala ‘Blade Runner’, washes of synths and big guitars reach for the heavens, it ebbs and flows as it adds block by block to something very tangible and grand. It’s a thrilling and transcending start. A sparkling and much busier ‘Gentö’ follows, the pace more urgent but still far from rushed, the duo taking their time, the haunting array of chimes, blips and throb of ‘Kinetoscope’ once again slowing things down to a soothing level. Not to be pigeonholed into some sort of post party chillout soundtrack bracket, there’s more than enough intelligence here to salve the soul but also throw in some textural curveballs, the swinging drums, harder edge and gorgeous baggy indie rock feel touches joyously elevating ‘Kaleidoscope’. Wrapping things up, the band’s titular ‘Bioscope’ is another brightly written and performed number, the sun rising on a new dawn as Messrs Rothery and Quaeschning bid their farewell to this opening chapter on what is promising to be a long and fruitful partnership. Whilst the hope is that it won’t take another five years for a follow-up to appear, ‘Gentö’ is a stunning work of art and something to be lived with, explored and fully embraced for all it is. Magnificent. — metalplanetmusic
Track List:
01 - Vanishing Point (Part I)
02 - Vanishing Point (Part II)
03 - Vanishing Point (Part III)
04 - Gentō
05 - Kinetoscope (Part I)
06 - Kinetoscope (Part II)
07 - Bioscope (Part I)
08 - Bioscope (Part II)
09 - Bioscope (Part III)
10 - Kaleidoscope
Media Report:
Genre: electronic, prog-rock
Origin: UK / Germany
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.3.0 (UTC 2013-05-26)
Note: If you like the music, support the artist.
|
-