Melodic Revolution 2023
In a reflection of inner peace, Hillsboro supplier of reveries pieces together his body and soul
Zen
There’s a fine line between art rock and new age, and that’s nigh on impossible to walk on such a tightrope to cross the aural abyss and reach one’s next album without falling to either side: here’s a truth Tony Romero learned the hard way. If his ensemble’s 2020 debut “Noise Machine” kept this balance with rare elegance, following the same route further on proved rather difficult, and the Oregonian artist found it necessary to have the path forked; as a result, the collective approach to prog perspective of "Red 32" should see a counterweight in “Zen” which is a solo, with a little help from friends, effort. However, “effort” cannot be the correct word to describe a mostly pensive record whose calm may encounter a compromise only at the end, when psychedelic pulse of “Peyote” transports the listener around the globe, to the other side of the world from the place opener “Africa” offers through a variety of jungle passages and sonic nuances.
As Romero’s fingers draw hypnotic lines from synthesizers to envelop the traveler and take the willing souls on a rhythm-shifting folk trip, where faux-flute and pseudo-orchestra drip and drench them in cosmic delights, towards catharsis, the epic “Ocean” unfolds almost intangible magic before the audience, weaving enchantment over a vaguely bluegrass background and an oratorio rise, until “One With Meditation” welcomes Robeone’s keyboards, Peter Matuchniak’s guitar and Steve Bonino’s bass to create a majestic picture of endless possibilities. But though “Two With Meditation” seems to introduce humor to the platter’s drift, its raga-spiced riffs, insistent bells and spaced-out effects sound quite serious, while the barely-there, fragile “RelaxZENation” gradually solidifies into a glorious, and slightly disturbing, Renaissance-esque uplift of “BeCalm” and “Flowstrumental” that adds a proper groove to this melodic river. Yes, “Bali” feels a bit abstract, albeit percussively propulsive, yet, leading to the trip-hop, acid-jazz finale, any forms are optional.
That’s the purity of “Zen” – and zen as a whole.
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