Spirit Of Unicorn Music 2024
Self
To break out of the house of mirror, Floridian musician embarks on rediscovering his id and refracting his conscious mind through the wall of sound.
A sonic chameleon whose penchant for mimicry is often undermined by his undeniably individual creative streak and a most prolific performer and producer, Fernando Perdomo finally decided to reveal his true colors. However, the American artist found it extremely difficult as he realized such a kaleidoscopic spectrum may have been lost among many different projects, so a certain amount of soul-seeking seemed to be in order, resulting in this little album. Not that the multi-instrumentalist has completely shed all the skins he used to wear through the years, yet running for cover of Robert Fripp figures or doffing a hat to Peter Banks was out of question, and even Perdomo’s own "Out To Sea" escapades felt too far-flung for Fern to pursue here.
Calling “Self” his “most complete statement” and letting the almost twenty-minute titular epic demonstrate the numerous aspects of his progressive-rock prowess in paradigm-shifting, as the exquisite weave of acoustic and electric guitars and intricate, if easy on the ear, synthesizers’ layers scintillate and fluctuate against ethereal vocal harmonies, Perdomo doesn’t hide behind a grandiose concept when there’s a need for exposing his heart. That’s why Fernando’s mellifluous, albeit not honeyed, voice is at the fore of shorter pieces – allowing everyone to access his personal world in all its sincerity – like the vulnerable opener “Searching For Myself” which marries primal scream to orchestral bliss, the unhurriedly funky “Who I Really Am” which jives with cosmic warmth, especially on a Harrison-styled six-string solo, or the Lennonesque-confessional “Everything Leads To Now” which stitches earthly folk strum to spacey Mellotron. Not so surprisingly, then, the pun-peddling “Optimist Prime” lyrically picks up where Sinatra’s “My Way” left off while spicing up the flow with futuristic riffs, before “Absolute Silence” melodically lifts off where Morris Albert’s “Feelings” landed to unfold heavenly balladry for the faux flamenco lace of “All Of Us Under The Same Moon” to stun the listener into awed silence.
Going it alone, the Miami Beach dweller delivered the best song-based opus of his career – and there’s a suspicion Fernando Perdomo has much more mileage in his engine.
*****
