Marvel Of Beauty 2013
Evidence
Art rock maven from Copenhagen forges an irrefutable proof of temporal grandeur on album number thirty two.
So many records in a little more than two decades may indicate either an exhaustive exercise of one’s vanity or an infinite bout of inspiration. Thankfully, for multi-instrumentalist Robin Taylor it’s the latter, and his band’s second platter of 2013 truly justifies the name of his label. Four pieces on offer have enough space to breathe, the piano ripple that “Buildings” floats on providing a billowing bedrock for solemn organ and Karsten Vogel’s sparsely mischievous sax, which could have made the ensemble’s leader restore the erstwhile FREE epithet before UNIVERSE, if only rock didn’t get in the way.
Drifting from initial vibrant fusion to a full-blown swagger here and on “Red Afternoon” with its bluesy bend, Claus Bohling’s guitars are the life of the progressively heavy, adventurous party where the lightness gets shredded in favor of threat. Not for nothing the belligerent “Marie Marolle” starts like a march only to give way to the already familiar frivolous theme that sounds as a pre-war portent now, until the brass infuses it all with shining, bittersweet hope which dissolves into cosmic clouds, with a synthesizer lining, on “Forever And A Day” – a testament to Taylor’s talent as a composer. There, the instrumental interplay is at its tightest to grip and foster the listener’s heart, an evidence of Robin’s ability to expand his universe ever further.
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