The Pitch: The acoustic solo project of Jeff Grimal, Spectrale, releases its first full length album through Les Acteurs De l'Ombre Productions after a year of meditation, automatic writing, and otherwise unfettered creativity.
What I Like: My guess is that most of the people on this site, myself included, don't listen to a lot of instrumental acoustic music. Even so, I highly recommend checking out Spectrale. This new album, officially titled simply '▲' is quite lovely, and each song has its own particular style and mood. There are folky moments of passion a la Panopticon ("Andromede"), reflections on Led Zeppelin's softer moments, dark and mysterious journeys reminiscent of Opeth ("Landing," "Magellan"), and even peaks of pure joy that drew comparisons to John Butler Trio ("Attraction"). Brought together, ▲ ends up being a lush and captivatingg experience despite its seemingly simple premise. Furthermore, the additional strings, drums, and other compositional elements that pop up on tracks like "Monocerotis" and the title track are incredibly moving and powerful.
Critiques: All said and done, I guess I could complain that there's not a whole lot here that I haven't heard somewhere else before. But to be fair, it's rare to here it all come together so well and in just one place.
The Verdict: ▲ is a rich, textured experience worth having; even for you jaded headbangers out there. If you can enjoy Opeth's Damnation or any of the other influences listed above, you should definitely take the plunge on this one. Spectrale and LADLO won't let you down.
Flight's Fav's: Andromede, Monocerotis Part 1, ▲
-Review by FlightOfIcarus
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