| |
When it comes to Canadian progressive rock the place to
be is the province of Quebec. It’s been that way since the
late sixties. There is obviously something in the water. And
now there’s another band to add to the list called Signs of
One, a quintet from Quebec City who’ve just released a new
CD entitled Innerlands. And it’s quite a captivating disc.***
The band’s origins go back to 1997 when they called themselves
Hannibal and were mostly playing covers of Rush, Radiohead
and the Ramones. Changes in personnel and musical direction
led to adopting the name Signs of One in 1999 and re-focusing
their musical talents to create progressive rock. The band
consists of David Schram (vocals), Steeve Tremblay (guitars,
vocals), Dan Gagnon (bass, vocals), Yannick Lapointe (keyboards,
guitar, vocals) and Phil Prince (drums, percussion). This
is the bands second CD, their first entitled Here and There,
Now and Then was released in 2003 independently. The new disc
Innerlands is a 70-minute concept piece made up of 14 parts
but plays almost like a single piece of music. It’s about
a guy who get’s caught up in a fantasy world that becomes
a journey of self discovery and heroism. Fascinating stuff.***
My first impression listening to Innerlands was a touch
of Mars Volta with a fair bit of Queen influences going on
here. But now after a half dozen spins through the disc, I
hear a lot more than that. There are a couple of tracks where
those two band’s style influence the general tone, but for
the most part Signs of One have their own very original sound
style. With a dedicated vocalist with a mid-tenor range and
three others helping vocals there are times where a big Queen
vocal arrangement surfaces such as in “Rainbow Elves” (5:09).
The music itself displays an art rock sensibility with upbeat
symphonic flourishes. The compositions come in a wide variety
of lengths from 1:30 musical intros or bridges to three tracks
around the 8-minute mark. But even in the shorter pieces the
compositions go through a wide variety of changes in time,
tempo, texture and mood. Remember this is a concept disc so
there is a story that the music supports, but that being said,
there are plenty of musical interludes and solos allowing
the musicianship to shine through. When the band takes a more
aggressive stance such as in “Remember” (7:48), the music
becomes more symphonic all the while avoiding a prog metal
approach and blending the crunchy guitar into a grander majestic
effect. Then half way through the band changes this song completely
turning it into more of a melodic anthem. On the surface some
of the tracks display a deceptive accessibility and yet upon
further listen one discovers an intriguing complexity, especially
as far the arrangements are concerned. A similar approach
is taken with the song “I” (6:12) where the vocals and guitar
are obviously conveying the intensity of the story, but then
the song again takes on a grand orchestration. My personal
favorite is the track “Us” (8:31) which starts with an ominous
mid-tempo moodiness and then kicks into high gear with a series
of staccato crescendos.***
For this being only the second release, Innerlands is
a worthy accomplishment. Signs of One have reached pretty
high with this recording and to my ears they’ve more than
accomplished what they set out to do. I’d suggest if you like
the general style of a band like Queen, but always wanted
them to write in a more progressive style you’ll really love
Signs of One. They also remind me a bit, particularly with
the story style, of the French band Silver Lining. The music
goes from fanciful to serious, from epic in scope to pastoral,
whatever it takes to convey the moods of the story being told.
All in all, there’s a tremendous amount of variety on this
disc which for me means it has longevity. In the end I liked
it a lot and will certainly be keeping an eye on this band.***
|
