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I've not heard Satellite's first disc A Street Between
Sunrise And Sunset but I have heard of people saying with
some disappointment that this disc is darker and more of a
downer than the first. Wow, the first album must have really
been something great for people to react this way. Always
(fashionably) late to the party, I say that Evening Games
is in itself something of an interesting release to ponder
and try to hold on to for a while. The whole album is like
some whispered secret that makes one look over their shoulder
after hearing it. And the secret seems to have something to
do with the band's penchant for mixing pop and neo-prog.
For those not familiar with Satellite, (like myself a
week ago) they are a Polish neo-prog band steeped in the sound
of IQ and Marillion and they feature a lot of techno dance
rhythms and highly produced segues from one passage to the
next and one song to the next. They are quite polished musically
and they offer Hogarth-like vocals, sometimes plaintively
emotive, sometimes shouted, but often whispered, painful or
sarcastic. They thrive on dynamic contrasts and Satellite's
music is a skillful blend of lush keyboard passages with Hackett-like
guitar accompaniment and short but roaring sections of metal
guitar and over the top drumming.
The disc begins with a sixteen minute piece, "Evening
Games" that is really two songs trying only somewhat successfully
to be one. It's too long, but it's also a pretty good symphonic
prog song. The next two, "Never Never" and "Rush" are both
nice tunes in the IQ/Marillion-ish mold and they also sport
some invitations to comparisons with Yes, The Flower Kings
and Depeche Mode as well.
"Love Is Around You" is slow, cheesy ballad with a clever
chorus. It's kind of like the old Pet Shop Boys (remember
them?) or a bad Midge Ure single. Quite nasty, this one. Next
comes what I consider the best work of this album, "Why" It
is presented in symphonic fashion and has a number of meter
and time changes that are handled with great skill by the
very talented Wojtek Szadkowski on drums. The opening motif
played on guitar is reminiscent of The Alan Parsons Project
and this song reminds me somewhat of Genesis. It is followed
by the other standout track from this disc, "Beautiful World"
a minimalist tune with a catchy hook and a great blend of
prog and pop music. Its vocal delivery is wonderfully sarcastic
at times and is excellent overall. It has a gorgeous center,
instrumental section with a very nice Hackett style guitar
solo.
"Evening Overture" and the albums closer, "Take It As
It Is" are both more pop oriented, the first more modern and
accessible and the closer more of a traditional Marillion
style ballad.
This seems to be, overall, a mixed success. Some of the
pop seems a bit frivolous at first but some will hit your
sweet spot right away and when the band sticks to symphonic
prog they clearly know what they're doing. What's unclear,
even a couple of years after this discs release, is how the
bands melding of neo-progressive, techno and conventional
pop music will go over with fans in the prog community.
RATING: 4/5
©Thomas Karr April 30, 2006
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