Seconds Before Landing 2014
Seconds Before Landing II
Second descent of daring spirit from ambient vibrancy down to sinful earth.
It was on a concept ground that singer and multi-instrumentalist John Crispino unfolded his prog project back in 2012, but this follow-up to "The Great Deception" doesn’t seem to entertain big ideas, only hidden ambitions – yet it works up much slier trickery. And it’s not the fact that “The Great Deceiver,” the “II” prayer centerpiece, conjures the intense ghost of a certain band whose Trey Gunn guests here; it’s its links to SFL’s debut and to the slow cosmic funk of “Al Shaitan” because both tracks’ titles refer to Devil.
In such a light, the album looks quite piquant, the fusion jive of opener “Big Train” taking the listener to the gloomy unknown with its sleazy brass and dry verses before the delicate buzz of “Hey Dad” pours a dark-matter kind of intimacy into the mix only to break the glass with dramatic chorus. Lucifer, or light at the end of the tunnel, is in the details, after all. That’s where the sweet seductive groove of “My Perfect Girl” comes from, topped with vibes and flute, to spill over into the theatrical “Don’t Want To Feel This Way” to echo PINK FLOYD, Alice Cooper and other purveyors of the fear allure. Yet then, “Silent Bird” flutters so romantic on the guitar lines and nervous riffs, as well as female voice, that it borders on a breathtaking experience.
Six-string stages a scenic ascent in “Enoch” – although the subject of the righteous entering the paradise alive might contradict the project’s theme – but “What Chu Do” brings the journey to a close in a crunchy dance manner. So much for the lack of coherence, it’s one hell of trip.
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