Victor Go - 2018 - Going for the Sense

(58:02; Uneasy Dreams)

Track list:
1. Going for the Sense 4:00
2. Lost in Ocean 2:52
3. Cannot Reach Altitude 3:48
4. Frightening Dream 2:06
5. Follow Your Heart 6:00
6. Branches and Roots 3:16
7. Diligence 3:54
8. Stream 4:13
9. Lost in Desert 2:29
10. Eventide 3:20
11. Pretty Faces 3:58
12. Romanza 3:22
13. The Only Road 4:46
14. Elation 3:17
15. The Only Road. Afterthought 2:49
16. The Amazon 3:52

Line-up:
Victor Go - vocals, instruments
with:
C. George - cello, piano


Prolusion.
Ukraine artist Victor Go is a bit of an unknown quantity for me, and he doesn't divulge too much information about himself online either. He appeared back in 2018, and released a handful of studio albums in quick succession of which the most recent appeared in 2021. "Going for the Sense" appears to be his debut album, and was released through the label Uneasy Dreams in 2018 - a label I presume is the artist's own.

Analysis.
The music explored by Victor Go on this album is perhaps one that many won't consider to be quite inside of the progressive rock boundaries. It is a very accessible type of music we get here, where the progressive aspects primarily reside in the arrangements rather than the structure, and as a secondary dimension due to certain similarities to specific progressive rock artists.

We do get a good handful of compositions here that have more of an atmospheric orientation for starters, where the mood and mode is one with more of an ambient intent. Floating and elegant keyboard textures and orchestral effects are central features here, with some world music elements, subtle cosmic effects or other details adding a more vibrant nerve to these otherwise relaxing landscapes.

As for the songs outside of that scope, we get fairly easygoing songs with a distinct pop music sensibility here. The keyboards are flowing and floating, the guitars are usually elegant and flowing too, with occasional tighter riffs adding a darker and tighter undercurrent. Easy to like and easy to listen to material, with some additional dramatic tension added by surging and swirling keyboard textures and the occasional use of a more layered and subtly more majestic arrangement. More often than not these creations reminded me of Genesis, but with the style and sound they explored after switching to a more mainstream orientation. With occasional similarities to Peter Gabriel's music from the same era.

At the very end of this album, as a bonus track, we also get an instrumental with a more expressive approach and execution. The organ is given an airing here, the guitars have a more creative role as a supporting instrument, and the general impression is that this final song comes with a stringer similarity to Genesis from the time they still explored the progressive rock realms in a more earnest manner.

This is a really well assembled production from a one man band operation, and while some elements may sound a bit mechanical and some songs perhaps will have a bit more of an electronic sounding feel to them than might have been intended, the end result is still an engaging one, at least if this type of music is within your field of interest. The vocals are a slight letdown, functional and passable but not quite of the same quality as the compositions themselves.

Conclusion.
"Going for the Sense" is a production I'd probably file under the art pop department somewhere, with 80's Genesis and Peter Gabriel as the main points of reference. While not the kind of music that your average progressive rock fan will be all that intrigued by, those who do find the landscapes explored by Genesis when they started to break into the charts and released singles that got serious airplay should find this album to be an interesting one to give a listen to.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, January 2023

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