LALU - A Mythmaker's Demise
French progressives LALU, formed around composer/ keyboardist/ producer Vivien Lalu have, in some ways, come full circle with latest and fifth album A Mythmaker’s Demise.
Not only does it mark the 20th anniversary of the band (debut album Onric Metal), A Mythmaker’s Demise welcomes the return of original vocalist Martin LeMar as well drummer extraordinaire Simon Phillips, who played on the earliest LALU track, 'Paint the Sky.'
The line up is completed by Vivien Lalu’s longtime songwriting partner and right hand guitar & bass man Joop Wolters.
(Keys player Jens Johansson (Stratovarius, Yngwie Malmsteen) provides guest solos across three of the tracks).
A Mythmaker’s Demise is also highly topical, reflecting as it does on the possible/ probable demise of human imagination and artistry in the ever-evolving (or devolving?) face of artificial intelligence (the cover artwork by Mattias Norén portrays a writer dying at his desk, a visual metaphor for the album’s deeper message).
Opener 'Tears Of The Muse,' which lyrically reflects upon the creativity to artificiality theme, sits firmly in LALU-prog land.
Starting with a sampled drum part the number kicks up a gear when Simon Phillips enters proceedings, alongside Joop Wolters' bass.
The tension is then raised with the introduction of minimalist distorted staccato guitar in the second verse before a second airing of the impressive chorus leads to a dreamy, instrumental conclusion.
Martin LeMar turns in an impressive vocal performance here but the tasteful and understated (but complex) keyboard parts are the icing on the cake.
'EKO,' which follows, is performed in a similarly lighter vein with every member of the project playing for the song rather than showing off their chops. The song also manages to remind of late-era King Crimson, recent Jakko Jakszyk albums and the pop sensibilities of Tears For Fears. No bad thing(s).
'I Am The One' features Simon Phillips swapping time signatures with ease to punctuate the various parts of what is a very complex, sub five minutes number.
While there are influences of Trevor Rabin era YES and later Genesis, there is very much a modern tone, and sonic, to the fore. Joop Wolters contributes an impressive guitar solo, there’s a tip of the hat to Rick Wakeman on the brief keyboard solo and the multi-tracked acapella ending reminds of Jon Anderson (at a much lower register).
Not only does it mark the 20th anniversary of the band (debut album Onric Metal), A Mythmaker’s Demise welcomes the return of original vocalist Martin LeMar as well drummer extraordinaire Simon Phillips, who played on the earliest LALU track, 'Paint the Sky.'
The line up is completed by Vivien Lalu’s longtime songwriting partner and right hand guitar & bass man Joop Wolters.
(Keys player Jens Johansson (Stratovarius, Yngwie Malmsteen) provides guest solos across three of the tracks).
A Mythmaker’s Demise is also highly topical, reflecting as it does on the possible/ probable demise of human imagination and artistry in the ever-evolving (or devolving?) face of artificial intelligence (the cover artwork by Mattias Norén portrays a writer dying at his desk, a visual metaphor for the album’s deeper message).
Opener 'Tears Of The Muse,' which lyrically reflects upon the creativity to artificiality theme, sits firmly in LALU-prog land.
Starting with a sampled drum part the number kicks up a gear when Simon Phillips enters proceedings, alongside Joop Wolters' bass.
The tension is then raised with the introduction of minimalist distorted staccato guitar in the second verse before a second airing of the impressive chorus leads to a dreamy, instrumental conclusion.
Martin LeMar turns in an impressive vocal performance here but the tasteful and understated (but complex) keyboard parts are the icing on the cake.
'EKO,' which follows, is performed in a similarly lighter vein with every member of the project playing for the song rather than showing off their chops. The song also manages to remind of late-era King Crimson, recent Jakko Jakszyk albums and the pop sensibilities of Tears For Fears. No bad thing(s).
'I Am The One' features Simon Phillips swapping time signatures with ease to punctuate the various parts of what is a very complex, sub five minutes number.
While there are influences of Trevor Rabin era YES and later Genesis, there is very much a modern tone, and sonic, to the fore. Joop Wolters contributes an impressive guitar solo, there’s a tip of the hat to Rick Wakeman on the brief keyboard solo and the multi-tracked acapella ending reminds of Jon Anderson (at a much lower register).
'Mayacama' is a shape-shifting instrumental that wouldn’t be out of place on a later Toto or Steve Lukather album (Joop Wolters’ guitar tone on this track isn’t a million miles away from Luke’s; some of the phrasing is also reminiscent).
Nor is Wolters any sort of slouch on bass, here employing a growly tone, with an octaver applied in certain sections. Great stuff.
'Prince With The Swift Warning' starts with an African drum part before rocking out with a half-time chorus/ middle eight.
Martin LeMar, who is vocally rock & prog solid throughout the album, features on some impressive, multi-tracked parts (with effective harmonies) while Joop Wolters indulges himself with some Chris Squire type bass lines on a track that, again, has influences of 90125 era YES and Trevor Rabin solo works.
'Learning To Fly' is the six-and-a-half minutes centrepiece of the album.
The song, initially, sets itself in the slightly whimsical territory of early Genesis and (even more so) Marillion. However, a third of the way through the number breaks down to a menacing section, over which is played a great Moog solo. The intensity then builds towards a Joop Wolters guitar solo before a complex riff time signature driven by Sinon Phillips takes hold.
The tempo drops to take the number to its conclusion before a sequenced keyboard part seeps in to create an unexpected, and quite frenetic, end. A LALU-prog highlight.
Any tension created by 'Learning To Fly' is dissipated by short acoustic instrumental 'A Drop Of Water,' which reminds of peak era Steve Howe (again, no bad thing).
The rockier 'Fhloston Paradise,' with (almost) spoken vocal parts, fully sung replies, and octave pedal bass underpinning the spacier sections, is reminiscent of some of Peter Gabriel's material.
However, Martin LeMar’s unrestrained vocal parts (not dissimilar to Bruce Dickenson) and the guitar power chords manage to evoke Iron Maiden. Meanwhile Simon Phillips, along with Vivien Lalu’s keyboard textures, expertly guide the band through the light & shade of what is a highly impressive number.
The rhythmic 'Cordal Weaves' nods to mid-era Rush in places (there are some 80s sounding chorus and delay effects on the Lifeson-esque guitar parts) before concluding on a slower-tempo, acoustic outro.
The album closes out on the ballad 'Midnight Ink,' which intros with a gorgeous and atmospheric keyboard part. The song then drops to a reflective and forlorn vocal & solo piano piece before a cello sounding strings part is added, all wrapped in peerless production.
Featuring one of Martin LeMar’s best vocal performances of the album, 'Midnight Ink' is an unexpected conclusion, but one that adds lovely contrast to an excellent album.
A Mythmaker's Demise is built on the sound and success of previous offering The Fish Who Wanted To Be King, but the shorter-song approach makes it more immediately accessible, and an album that should appeal to both the more mainstream rock fan and the melodically focussed prog-rock aficionado.
Creativity over artificiality – embrace, celebrate and enjoy it while you can, before the inevitable demise.
Nelson McFarlane & Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Nor is Wolters any sort of slouch on bass, here employing a growly tone, with an octaver applied in certain sections. Great stuff.
'Prince With The Swift Warning' starts with an African drum part before rocking out with a half-time chorus/ middle eight.
Martin LeMar, who is vocally rock & prog solid throughout the album, features on some impressive, multi-tracked parts (with effective harmonies) while Joop Wolters indulges himself with some Chris Squire type bass lines on a track that, again, has influences of 90125 era YES and Trevor Rabin solo works.
'Learning To Fly' is the six-and-a-half minutes centrepiece of the album.
The song, initially, sets itself in the slightly whimsical territory of early Genesis and (even more so) Marillion. However, a third of the way through the number breaks down to a menacing section, over which is played a great Moog solo. The intensity then builds towards a Joop Wolters guitar solo before a complex riff time signature driven by Sinon Phillips takes hold.
The tempo drops to take the number to its conclusion before a sequenced keyboard part seeps in to create an unexpected, and quite frenetic, end. A LALU-prog highlight.
Any tension created by 'Learning To Fly' is dissipated by short acoustic instrumental 'A Drop Of Water,' which reminds of peak era Steve Howe (again, no bad thing).
The rockier 'Fhloston Paradise,' with (almost) spoken vocal parts, fully sung replies, and octave pedal bass underpinning the spacier sections, is reminiscent of some of Peter Gabriel's material.
However, Martin LeMar’s unrestrained vocal parts (not dissimilar to Bruce Dickenson) and the guitar power chords manage to evoke Iron Maiden. Meanwhile Simon Phillips, along with Vivien Lalu’s keyboard textures, expertly guide the band through the light & shade of what is a highly impressive number.
The rhythmic 'Cordal Weaves' nods to mid-era Rush in places (there are some 80s sounding chorus and delay effects on the Lifeson-esque guitar parts) before concluding on a slower-tempo, acoustic outro.
The album closes out on the ballad 'Midnight Ink,' which intros with a gorgeous and atmospheric keyboard part. The song then drops to a reflective and forlorn vocal & solo piano piece before a cello sounding strings part is added, all wrapped in peerless production.
Featuring one of Martin LeMar’s best vocal performances of the album, 'Midnight Ink' is an unexpected conclusion, but one that adds lovely contrast to an excellent album.
A Mythmaker's Demise is built on the sound and success of previous offering The Fish Who Wanted To Be King, but the shorter-song approach makes it more immediately accessible, and an album that should appeal to both the more mainstream rock fan and the melodically focussed prog-rock aficionado.
Creativity over artificiality – embrace, celebrate and enjoy it while you can, before the inevitable demise.
Nelson McFarlane & Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ