Nuovo lavoro per questi ragazzi californiani, passati inosservati con il precedente (seppur notevole) "Leitmotif".
Qua ci troviamo davanti ad un'opera "monumentale" di quelle che restano impregnate nella pelle e si attaccano come sanguisughe: questa volta hanno deciso di fare sul serio... e sono pienamente riusciti nel loro intento.

Erroneamente inseriti nel calderone Nu Metal, I Dredg non c'entrano niente con il numetal, anzi i Dredg non c'entrano niente con nessun altro gruppo, fanno storia a parte.
Immaginate un insieme di suoni che possono ricordare Tool, Pink Floyd e King Crimson e potrete avere una vaga idea di quello che sono i Dredg.

La malinconia la fa da padrona e all'interno di tutto il cd la voce di Gavin Hayes si erge con una magnifica superbia, ed è proprio il suo modo di cantare che rende l'opera diversa dal comune... a tratti inquietante.
Le canzoni sono tutte belle e non sono mai scontate; le tentazioni noisy del debutto lasciano il campo a suoni delicati ed emozionali, sorretti da una base ritmica comunque possente. Tra tutte "Of The Room", "Same Ol'Road", "Sorry But It's Over" che potrebbero essere benissimo inserite come colonna sonora di un movie drammatico (penso a "...il nido del cuculo").

Il package scelto è il fiore all'occhiello; sfogliando il booklet interno si respira aria di un mondo "ignoto", le raffigurazioni fanno sempre riferimento ad un "dream Phenomena"... una specie di stato di allucinazione sonora chiamata "Sleep Paralysis" con altrettante testimonianze scritte di chi negli anni passati è stato colpito da questo male metafisico.
Un sogno etereo, un ricordo fetale sembra quasi di vagare nel cielo avvolti in una bolla di liquido amniotico... queste sono le sensazioni. Una volta entrato in circolo questo capolavoro è come una droga... è l'assuefazione più totale.

Congratulazioni ai Dredg che hanno spezzato una lancia a favore della musica fatta con il cuore, oltre le barriere del business musicale che tanto condiziona molte bands... ma non loro.
Grazie davvero.

Elenco tracce testi e video

01   Brushstroke: dcbtfoabaaposba (00:57)

02   Same Ol' Road (05:14)

Here we go
down that same old road again,
Sympathy unfolds the shell that holds,
All beauty within,
Here we go
down that same old road again,

A memory, a regret, a hope.

Here we go
down that same old road again,
Empathy controls the wind that blows,
And tickles our skin,

A memory, a regret, a hope, a stimulus.

Recent it seems,
we must push on, we must push on,
though we bleed,
we must push on, we must push on.

All you need is a modest house in a modest neighborhood,
In a modest town, where honest people dwell.
Making the cleanest energy,
For the greenest plants to grow,
In the richest soil that is drenched,
With the freshest rain,
Then you should sit in your backyard,
Watch clouds peak over the tallest mountain tops,
Because they unveil honest opinions
about the stars.

We must push on, recent it seems,
We must push on, we must push on,
Though we bleed, we must push on, we must push on

All you need is a modest house in a modest neighborhood.

03   Sanzen (04:34)

I can't even concentrate on this,
It's over thought, anticipated,
The pen ink is running dry,
It's been thrown to paper and wasted,

Creativity has been blocked and over tasted,
Maybe in time, I'll appreciate it

Hold on, hold on, we'll be with you soon

These papers are stuck in this book,
'till they're torn out and pasted,
to inside of my memory,
where I can later look and see them in a new gallery,
where they can later be viewed and appreciated.

Hold on, hold on, we'll be with you soon,
We'll be with you soon

Longing for what has been lost,
And longing for what hasn't been obtained,
It's a small cost, forgot the past, lost the future,
Only now remains

Hold on, hold on, we'll be with you soon,
We'll be with you soon

04   Brushstroke: New Heart Shadow (01:33)

06   Sorry but It's Over (04:08)

Distorted and complicated
I'm sorry but it's over
Essential to awaken...
how moving
Here we are
That's what it's all about
I'm sorry but it's over
To love here and to love this...
I'm finally breathing

Before you go,
there is something more to say

Persistent resentment
I'm sorry but it's over
Seduction for destruction
I'm finally breathing

To love this, all this
It's what it's all about all the way

Before you go,
there is something more to say

07   Convalescent (03:32)

This lonely old man had heart, resting
Gray hairs on wrinkled arms
with nothing but a stool to hold up his back
Skinny legs with Japanese mileage
Crossed at the ankles
He's unaware

Maybe you've never seen it
Maybe you've never been through it
It's the only way to understand it

Unaware of his surroundings
Youth, it passed
Swarming like wolves to a fresh kill,
the scent attracts
He's just scared about dying

Maybe you've never seen it
Maybe you've never been through it
It's the only way to understand him
Save your clever statements
Brave your severed view of it
It's the only way to understand it

To believe that...
to think back...
to realize that
no sad days have come to an end
where all...
where all has been lost

Maybe you've never seen it
Maybe you've never been through it
It's the only way to understand it
Save your clever statements
Brave yourself if you want in
It's the only way to understand it

08   Brushstroke: Walk in the Park (01:40)

09   Eighteen People Living in Harmony (04:28)

10   Scissor Lock (03:23)

11   Brushstroke: Reprise (01:32)

Here we go
down that same ol' road again.

12   Of the Room (03:44)

White cloth
Black napkins
Wood chairs surround me
Wood tables
Foggy side
in front with no light

Night falls beneath candle light

Cast shadows
Incense fragrance
from the corner of the room
Cloudy senses
Stale light
below, beneath

Night falls beneath candle light
White squalls beneath winter sky
Night falls beneath wintered sky
White squalls beneath winter skies

Faceless crowd
of elderly beings
Roses sprouting
Yellow glow
The sub-conscience into the
night beneath

Night falls beneath candle light
White squalls beneath winter skies

13   Brushstroke: An Elephant in the Delta Waves (01:47)

14   It Only Took a Day (03:16)

Think we know,
oblivious though
Unified clones
sit like stones
up on thrones
of fools gold
Looking bold
but all alone

Restore our needed shelter

Sitting sideways
Something deep
Wading water
Pants at my knees
Fading with growth
Lie awake
Buried stones
All alone

Restore our needed shelter
Our flawless endeavor...
to be alone

Sitting sideways
Something deep
Wading water
Pants at my knees
Sitting sideways
Something deep
Fading with growth
Lie awake

15   Whoa Is Me (05:36)

16   The Canyon Behind Her (06:39)

Does anybody feel this way?
Does anybody feel like I do?

I built a wall,
It's stretched 1000 miles, set it off,
A massacre, it's holding up the roof,
Breast feed your hearts.

It set it off

I saw a distant port,
with no water to support,
burning
the bridge between

Does anybody feel this way?
Does anybody feel like I do?
Does anybody feel this way?
Does anybody feel like I do?

Never content nor satisfied,
Intentions of self,
Massacre change and history,
Borderline paranoia,
Yelling out their own right

Does anybody feel this way?
Does anybody feel like I do?
Does anybody feel this way?
Does anybody feel like I do?

Half of me is gone,
The lonesome part is left,
I cannot find the other half,
I cannot find the other half,
I cannot find the other half,
I cannot find the other half.

Carico i commenti...  con calma

Altre recensioni

Di  Tex

 Le canzoni sono entrate nella mia testa come un fulmine, rendendomi conscio di aver finalmente scoperto un gruppo ottimisticamente ignorato dal panorama musicale italiano!

 Ascoltarlo in cuffia mentre le dita scivolano sulla tastiera, accompagnato da un sorso di grappa casalinga... La sensazione che sto provando non è trasmissibile con le parole scritte.