Peacock Sunrise 2025
The Painted River Of Light
Topanga’s instrumental triangle turns quilted tapestries into multicolored landscapes on album number three.
One may attribute Gayle Ellett’s reluctance to rely on his DJAM KARET credentials when THE ELECTROMAGS’ first two records appeared on the shelves to the guitarist’s modesty – and the latter ensemble’s sophomore release was titled "Friends" to reflect his embracing of outside influences anyway – but now the framework of the former seems to be implemented again, only the formula it’s applied to is rather fresh. Sure, at first glance the four mini-epics on “The Painted River Of Light” inhabit progressive rock domain, yet their length and scope are masterfully undermined by the Californian trio’s refusal to linger at any given stylistic, and even melodic, spot. More so, the piecemeal approach will keep the listener permanently focused and often surprised, as the musicians have fun and enjoy playing with the audience’s perception and perspective.
Rising to the challenge to make the bits and pieces they stitch together feel organic, the band first offer a staggering array of arresting passages, quite a few of which come across as aurally familiar, to deliberately evoke the ghosts of several legendary six-stringers and ivories-drivers, and then resolve such teasing into something completely original that allows “The Illuminating Sands Of Time” become more than alluring. And when they allows the soundscapes, where the main man’s Mellotron and acoustic strum reign supreme, to host an occasional bluesy lick and a sharp riff the streams of collective’s wonders transport the public to wuthering heights. Still, the constant shifts of tempo and texture – there are bossa-nova-tinctured dances and groove-centered funky raves, with Ellett’s fascinating figures engaged in a seductive swirl with Mark Cook’s bass and Craig Kahn’s drums; there are sonic assaults, with Mark’s Warr guitar warring with Gayle’s flamenco-like lace; there are keyboard-drawn dramatic panoramas with synthetic choirs – never get in the way of the group’s delicious delivery.
If anything, the changes flow so logically as to fathom the ethereal scope of “Deep Waters Glow Brightly” – that’s tethered to earth via the jollily rocking blend of Hammond jive and sitar-esque twang, and taken beyond the pale by tasty heavy-metal onslaught – but of course, snippets of country which lead, in a radio manner, into “Frequency Modulation” give it all a hilarious slant before surrendering to magnetic fusion which marries raga to jazz with a lot of faux-orchestral aplomb. And then there’s the fabulously titled “The Rhodes To Discovery” – whose Gershwin-channeling balladry is immensely uplifting, spiritual and jovial at the same time – to demonstrate how lighthearted scaling the peaks of tuneful rapture and plumbing the profundity of seriousness can get. A stunning opus on every count.
*****
