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Kristoffer Gildenlow Basses, Guitars,
Vocals, Keyboards, Double Bass, Cello, Mandolin |
Dirk Bruinenberg Drums and Percussion |
| The
Review |
The other day I received a batch of new CDs to review…not
knowing what to expect I put the first one on, a disc entitled
Synchronized by a band called Dial consisting of Swedish and
Dutch members including former Pain of Salvation’s Kristoffer
Gildenlow and art rockers Liselotte Hegt and Rommert van der
Meer. The stated objective of the band Dial was to create
music with no genre restrictions or create as they called
it a “forum for musical creativity.” Again having no foreknowledge
of the music, I was still a little surprised at what was coming
out of the speakers.
The first track on Synchronized, “Beautiful” is a mix
of aggressive, crunchy, minor guitar chords, female vocals
and strange percussive sound effects but assembled in such
a way that the melody of the composition was very evident.
I was intrigued. Then the second track, “Sadness” was more
of traditional acoustic or power ballad featuring plaintive
male vocals and lots of beautiful Mellotron. Track three “Jewel”
is back to the female vocals run through an effect, backed
up with heavy guitar providing the crunch. Track four “Candyland”
starts off sounding very much like something Kate Bush would
offer with a vaudeville show-tunes musical style featuring
tack-piano and a quirky Broadway musical melody. And so it
goes through the CD’s eleven tracks. Most of the songs are
in the four-five minute range. Each of the tracks goes in
a different direction, never giving any hint of what’s to
come. One will be in more of a guitar oriented pop-rock style,
while the next will be more avant-pop. The idea of a musical
forum is evident given the varied nature of these compositions.
One would be hard-pressed to say that Dial has a musical style.
In fact I’m guessing they worked real hard with the songs
on Synchronized to avoid that. The only thing that joins all
the songs together is an overarching sense of moodiness, melancholy
and even a bit of gloom.
The music of Dial is clearly and most obviously Art-Rock,
not really Progressive Rock as we have come to know it or
in the traditional sense. Each song here incorporates an atypical
style of composition and many include atypical instruments
such as Mandolin or cello. The music of Dial is melodic, quirky,
atmospheric, catchy, moody, and as such makes Synchronized
a very captivating and enjoyable listen.
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