Seconds Before Landing 2013
The Great Deception
Conspiracies-inspired, Pennsylvanian proggers’ first flight down to earth and close to home.
On the verge of reality, rumors breed: that’s where fertile ground is for letting one’s imagination run wild – and that’s what John Crispino did for his project’s debut. Using keyboards and percussion as colors for an array of well-textured pieces, he also relies on audio effects and radio transmissions to shape the stories which involve, among other things, Rosewell mystery and liars in high places. From the tribal throb of “What Could It Be?” to the false peace of “Message In A Field,” sonic palette paints paranoia, which is anchored by Tim Bogert’s soulful bass in the theatrically groovy “They’re All Around You” and spiked with Trey Gunn’s six-string swirl around the heavy riffage of “Welcome, To The Future.”
Yet, quite surprising for dystopian narrative, the plea behind “Solitary Man” floats on blues lines and folky vocal harmonies, while “I’m All Alone” takes the theme of detachment into a gloomy new-age realm, despite the presence of vocals and guitar twang. So “Elmendorf” may be heavily – that’s the epithet here – influenced by “The Wall” and its funk, whereas “Instructions” rocks on the edge of techno, and “My Time To Go” finds its buzz down the trip-hop path, acoustic strum giving it sensuality. Escapism makes sense, though, as it’s an inherent part of an imagination run from reality. And escapism is the deception.
***1/4
